Despite the ravages of colonisation, many of Tasmania’s First Nations people have begun reinvigorating crafts that specifically address their sense of identity. Rex Greeno’s Ningher (reed canoe) marks a significant moment in this affirmation.

In order to make refined versions of traditional watercraft, Greeno undertook research into Palawa material culture, locating collections throughout Tasmania of surviving bark canoes and drawing on his background and available literature to recreate several examples.

After discovering a scale model of a reed canoe (ningher) at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart, Greeno was inspired to attempt the more complex watercraft — the first to be made in recent years. He gained an understanding of the canoe’s structure through an MRI examination of the model, noting particularly a strong stick through its centre. Though unable by law to harvest the sedges used by his ancestors, he gained permission to gather enough of the reeds (Phragmites australis) from the banks of the Tamar River in Launceston to make the four-metre-long Ningher.