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THE SOLE SURVIVOR?
Truganini is often claimed to
be the last full-blooded
Aboriginal Tasmanian, but she
was actually survived by a
woman named Fanny
Cochrane Smith by 29 years..
WIPED OUT
Truganini (centre) and some
of the few remaining
Indigenous Tasmanians
WHITE SAVIOUR
In Britain, Robinson was seen
as a Victorian philanthropist,
helping people who
seemingly could not help
themselves. He was paid a
sum of £8,000 for his work
on the settlement camps.
PEACE AT LAST
MAIN: A portrait of
Truganini, circa 1866
RIGHT: A monument
to this incredible woman
stands on Bruny Island,
where she was born
managed to find some comfort in
the land of her ancestors.
As Truganini grew older still,
she watched the rest of those on
the camp die off, until she was
the last one left. Having seen the
bodies of her compatriots being
dissected and experimented in
(despite the fact it was deeply
offensive to her culture) she
feared the same would happen
to her – “I know the Museum
wants my body,” she said before
she died in 1876. She was right.
Two years after her burial in
the grounds of an old women’s
prison, the Royal Society of
Tasmania dug up her skeleton
and placed it on display. It seemed
that even in death, she would not
know peace.
Approaching the 100-year
anniversary of her passing, in
1976 Aboriginal campaigners
finally obtained her remains,
and scattered her ashes in the
waters of Tasmania. Truganini is
remembered as one of the most
famous Aboriginal Australians
who ever lived, someone who
fought tirelessly to preserve the
legacy of her people. d
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Should more be done to remember the
victims of colonial violence?
email: editor@historyrevealed.com
MAY 2017 27