Truganini (book)

Truganini: Journey Through the Apocalypse is a 2020 biography of Truganini by Cassandra Pybus. Truganini, a Nuenonne woman who lived between 1812–1876, has been widely and falsely mythologised as "the last full-blooded Aboriginal Tasmanian", having survived the extermination of most of Tasmania's Indigenous population in the early 19th century. Truganini survived by acting as a guide for expeditions organised by colonists to capture and exile her fellow Aboriginal Tasmanians, and was later exiled herself to Wybalenna Aboriginal Establishment and Oyster Cove. Pybus has said that the goal of her writing was to "liberate the stories" of Aboriginal people trapped in colonists' accounts, and that the myth-making surrounding Truganini as the "last of her people" had overshadowed her agency and experiences.

The book was published by Allen & Unwin in 2020. It was praised for its empathy and storytelling, but reviewers expressed frustration that Pybus was limited by the lack of a meaningful historical record told from Truganini's perspective. Pybus was forced to rely largely on eyewitness accounts written by colonists, particularly the diaries of George Augustus Robinson. The book was the winner of the 2021 National Biography Award and was shortlisted for a Prime Minister's Literary Award and a Queensland Literary Award.