Terra Nullius by Selfless Orchestra

Terra Nullius is a Latin phrase meaning “nobody’s land.” It became a brutal legal fiction used to justify the British colonisation of Australia—denying the sovereignty, knowledge, and presence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This lie underpinned the violent dispossession of land, culture and identity, creating a deep wound that continues to shape the social and ecological crises of today.

Drawing from fieldwork with remote Indigenous communities by the band members, Selfless Orchestra presents Terra Nullius—a bold new performance project and album that confronts Australia’s colonial legacy while offering a hopeful reimagining of connection to Country. From taking songs that were written in time spent on country with elders, it asks: what are the consequences of being severed from the land—and how do we begin to restore those bonds?

Unfolding across an hour-long live audiovisual performance, Terra Nullius guides the audience through stories of loss, injustice and resistance: from the Maralinga nuclear tests and the refugee internments of Woomera, to the desecration of sacred Aboriginal rock art. Woven throughout are documentary soundscapes, archival recordings and deeply emotive live instrumentation, revealing how the stories of this continent are interconnected by a need to listen—to land, to Elders, and to each other.

Formed in 2018, Selfless Orchestra is a collaborative emergence of musicians from the creative community of Perth, Australia, born with the manifesto of creating spaces in which hope and despair co-exist, where audiences can be educated and inspired about issues of social and environmental justice through poetical musical performance.