Fanny Cochrane Smith
Encyclopedia
Tasmanian languages
The Tasmanian languages, or Palawa languages, were the languages indigenous to the island of Tasmania. Based on short wordlists, it appears that there were anywhere from five to sixteen languages on Tasmania....
, and her wax cylinder recordings of songs are the only audio recordings of any of Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
's indigenous languages.
Life
Fanny Cochrane's mother and father, Tanganutura and Nicermenic, were two of the Tasmanian aborigines settled on Flinders IslandFlinders Island
Flinders Island may refer to:In Australia:* Flinders Island , in the Furneaux Group, is the largest and best known* Flinders Island * Flinders Island , in the Investigator Group* Flinders Island...
in the 1830s by the Rev. George Augustus Robinson
George Augustus Robinson
George Augustus Robinson was a builder and untrained preacher. He was the Chief Protector of Aborigines in Port Phillip District from 1839 to 1849...
, and she was born on the island at Wybalena. No Indigenous name is known, Robinson had given European names to all the Tasmanians who arrived at the Island and attempted to suppress their culture.
Up to the age of seven she lived in the home of the Wybalenna preacher and was then sent to a school in Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
to learn domestic service skills. In 1847 her parents, along with the survivors of Wybalenna were removed to Oyster Cove. In 1854, Fanny married William Smith, an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
lawyer and ex-convict, and between 1855 and 1880 they had eleven children. A large proportion of the present Lia Pootah Aboriginal community in Tasmania are their descendants. Following her marriage, Fanny and her husband ran a boarding-house in Hobart. After receiving a government annuity of £24 and a land grant of 100 acres (40.5 ha), she selected land near Oyster Cove to be near her family and the couple moved there shortly before their first child was born. The Smiths grew their own food but derived their income from timber.
Following the death of Truganini
Truganini
Trugernanner , often referred to as Truganini, was a woman widely considered to be the last "full blood" Palawa ....
in 1876, Fanny laid claim to be "the last Tasmanian". The government of the Colony of Tasmania
Colony of Tasmania
The Colony of Tasmania was a British colony that existed on the island of Tasmania from 1856 until 1901, when it federated together with the five other Australian colonies to form the Commonwealth of Australia...
recognised this claim in 1889 and granted her 300 acres (121.4 ha) of land and increased her annuity to £50. She became a Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
and gave the land needed to build a Methodist church at Nicholls Rivulet, which opened in 1901.
Smith is well known for her wax cylinder recordings of Aboriginal songs, made in 1903, which comprise the only audio recordings of an indigenous Tasmanian language
Tasmanian languages
The Tasmanian languages, or Palawa languages, were the languages indigenous to the island of Tasmania. Based on short wordlists, it appears that there were anywhere from five to sixteen languages on Tasmania....
.
She died of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
and pleurisy
Pleurisy
Pleurisy is an inflammation of the pleura, the lining of the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs. Among other things, infections are the most common cause of pleurisy....
at Port Cygnet, 10 mi (16.1 km) from Oyster Cove, on 24 February 1905. There was some dispute at the time of her death as to whether she or Truganini
Truganini
Trugernanner , often referred to as Truganini, was a woman widely considered to be the last "full blood" Palawa ....
was the last full-blood Tasmanian Aborigine.
The recording of Smith's songs was the subject of a 1998 song by Australian folk singer Bruce Watson, The Man and the Woman and the Edison Phonograph. Watson is the grandson of the man who recorded Fanny in 1903. Watson's great grandfather, Horace Watson, had been responsible for making the Smith recordings. A photograph of Fanny Cochrane Smith and Horace Watson is displayed in the collection of the National Museum of Australia
National Museum of Australia
The National Museum of Australia was formally established by the National Museum of Australia Act 1980. The National Museum preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation....
.
External links
- Listen to Fanny Cochrane Smith's recording and read more about the first and last recordings of Tasmanian Aboriginal songs and language on australianscreen online
- 'Fanny Cochrane Smith’s Tasmanian Aboriginal Songs' has been added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia Registry
External links
- State Library of Tasmania Images Photos of Smith, Fanny Cochrane