The Black War in Tasmania, which began in 1828, was a violent conflict between British colonial forces and the Palawa people, the island's indigenous inhabitants. This conflict resulted in the near-extermination of the Palawa population through systematic violence, displacement, and disease. The war exemplifies the devastating effects of colonialism and the struggle for survival faced by indigenous peoples in the face of European expansion.

The Black War in Tasmania sparked a wave of poetry reflecting on colonial guilt and the extinction of Indigenous cultures. Poets like Judith Wright and others grappled with the human cost of empire-building, infusing their works with themes of loss, memory, and the consequences of colonization.