Aboriginal Connections

It is unclear when Aboriginals first arrived in Tasmania, but some reports estimate they have been present for 40, 000 years. They were able to reach Tasmania from the mainland via a land bridge when sea levels were lower. Approximately 12 000 years ago, during the last ice-age, the sea levels rose and Tasmanian Aboriginals were cut off from the mainland and were isolated from other Aboriginal groups.

Animal species were also affected by this phenomenon. The variety of animal species found on the mainland, are not present in Tasmania, like the dingo and koala and many species of wallabies. Likewise some species which appeared in Tasmania were protected by their isolation such as the Thylacine, Tasmanian Tiger and the healthy population of 2 species of quolls, one of which has disappeared from the mainland.

Tasmanian Aboriginals began to have contact with Europeans as they began exploring the island including Tasman, Furneaux, Cook, Bligh, D’Entrecasteaux and Bass and Flinders.

Permanent British settlement in Risdon Cove in 1804, and later in other areas of Tasmania had a huge impact on Aboriginal communities. Very sadly, as in many other parts of Australia, Aboriginals were afflicted with various diseases as they came into contact with the Europeans. Convict settlement led to dispossession of land that Aboriginals needed for hunting, fishing and the collection of fruits and seeds. Some were even murdered as a way of dealing with any opposition. Sealers often traded or stole Aboriginal women and used their knowledge of mutton birding to their own advantage.

In 1828, martial law was proclaimed by the leader of the colony at the time, Governor Arthur (Pt Arthur was also named after him). Aboriginals could be shot on sight in any built up area. In an effort to move the Aboriginals into reserve situations, missionary George Augustus, succeeded over the next 3 years in moving many of the surviving Aboriginals to Flinders Island. Another mixed community developed on the Furneaux Islands which consisted of European sealers/fishermen and Aboriginal women. The Flinders Island group of people were eventually returned at their request to Oyster Cove, which is south of Hobart.

Today’s Aboriginal descendents still have an important physical and spiritual connection to the land. They have fought hard to have their land rights recognized. Examples such as the handing back of Risdon Cove, near Hobart, the site of the first European settlement in Tasmania, the settlement on Flinders Island, and many of the smaller islands around the coast where Aboriginals traditionally hunted for mutton birds, have gone some way in acknowledging and respecting Aboriginal history and culture.

The return of various skeletons removed from the island and taken to Europe for scientific research have also been brought back to Australia in recognition of the importance of Aboriginal spirituality and common respect. Some museum returns from Britain are still ongoing.

Shell middens are one of the easiest and most common remains of Aboriginal life to be seen along coastlines. These should be respected and shells not removed from the area. Various museums, including the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery in Hobart and the Queen Victoria Museum in Launceston are places to visit which highlight various aspects of Aboriginal culture and history.

If travelling to the north of the state an Aboriginal interpretation Centre on Mersey Bluff, Devonport, called Tiagarra is also well worth a visit to learn about the history and culture of Aboriginal people in Tasmania.

Truganini, one of the last full-blood Aboriginal women is worth finding out more about as a survivor and is immortalized in one of Midnight Oil's songs called ‘Truganini’.