Featured Article Summary #124

Truganini (c. 1812–1876) was an Aboriginal woman from Tasmania, often described as the last surviving Aboriginal Tasmanian. She grew up on Bruny Island with the Nuenonne people and, as a teenager, witnessed the death and displacement of many Aboriginal Tasmanians during European colonisation in the Black War. She later worked as a guide for colonial official George Augustus Robinson, accompanying expeditions that led to the exile of the remaining Aboriginal population. After those expeditions, she was sent to Wybalenna on Flinders Island, later spent time in the Port Phillip District, and was eventually moved to Oyster Cove, where by 1872 she was the only Aboriginal resident left. After her death in 1876, the Tasmanian government claimed that Aboriginal people there were extinct, and she became a symbol of that myth, though scholars and many Aboriginal Tasmanian people reject the idea that she was truly the “last.” Today, her story is used in different ways, including as a reminder of genocide and also as an anti-colonial resistance figure. Truganini was born around 1812 at Recherche Bay in southern Tasmania. She was the youngest daughter of Manganerer of the Nuenonne clan, whose traditional lands included Bruny Island and parts of the coast between Recherche Bay and Oyster Cove, and her mother was likely from the Ninine people. Around the time of her birth, Nuenonne country was increasingly affected by British colonisation. After early European visits and growing ship traffic following the founding of Hobart in 1804, raids by transported convicts and other colonial pressures led to fear and disruption, while settler numbers rose quickly during the early 1800s. After British settlement, Nuenonne seal colonies collapsed and many Nuenonne women were forced to trade sex for food. Truganini’s family suffered repeated violence and kidnapping, including the murder of her mother and the abduction of her sisters, and later an account describes Truganini being abducted and raped by timber cutters during the wider “Black War.” In 1829, George Augustus Robinson met Truganini, brought her to Missionary Bay, and set up a Christian mission there, using her presence to draw in other Nuenonne people and trading work for extra rations, but disease drove many to leave. Truganini eventually deserted the mission and later married Woureddy, after Robinson recovered her from a whaling station; her stepmother was then kidnapped, and Manganerer later died from illness and a sexually transmitted disease. In January 1830, George Robinson got the governor’s approval for a “friendly mission” to win trust with Aboriginal peoples in western and north-western Tasmania. He traveled from Recherche Bay in February 1830 with Aboriginal guides including Truganini, whose condition was very serious, and the group negotiated and performed corroborees while also learning about the deadly “Black War” and the growing violence of settlers. As martial law and the “Black Line” policy were introduced, Robinson tried to find Aboriginal groups who were evading capture and persuade them to come for safety, including warning them of the militia. He brought them to Swan Island, a harsh place with little food and bad conditions, and although his mission helped many avoid capture, Robinson later profited from rewards and controlled resources like a boat that the guides never benefited from. The colony’s leaders pushed Robinson to lead more missions, but he convinced them to create a permanent resettlement place first, on Gun Carriage Island. In 1831, he brought Truganini and other Aboriginal people—including survivors from the city and from Swan Island—to the new colony, even after Truganini and the guides complained. Robinson removed the sealers, provided Truganini with a cottage, but she refused to move in and begged to be allowed to return to the mainland.