The Dreamtime is one of the greatest Australian publishing successes. The first edition was published in 1965, and one million copies have sold in Australia alone. The original concept of the paintings was developed by an association between Ainslie Roberts and Charles Mountford, well known for his anthropological work among the Aboriginal peoples. They had made extensive tours through remote outback regions, and the resulting potent imagery bridged cultural gulfs, making Australians more aware of the Aboriginal sense of sacredness in all things.

I saw my role as a white man, painting in the white man's style, and painting for white people and trying to bridge this gap between two cultures in a way that just might give back to the Aborigines some of the dignity and some of the respect that I don't think they deserved to lose in the first place.
Ainslie Roberts - Beyond the Dreamtime film.