The white ghosts sailed in is a speculative artwork made to appear like an old film with scratches and burns; at times the simulated decay completely obliterates the image. Artist Tracey Moffatt imagines the film as having been made by Australian Indigenous people on 26 January 1788, capturing views of Sydney Harbour. The soundtrack features marching drums and crying babies, implying that the British invasion is taking place off screen. With this hypothetical historical document, Moffatt asks viewers to imagine what it was like for Indigenous Australians on the day that the British violently laid claim to their land.