Truganini
Encyclopedia
Trugernanner often referred to as Truganini, was a woman widely considered to be the last "full blood
" Palawa
(Tasmanian Aborigine).
There are a number of other transcription
s (or spellings) of her Palawa language
name, including: Trugannini, Trucanini, Trucaminni, and Trucaninny. Trugernanner was also widely known by the nickname Lalla Rooke.
n capital Hobart
, and separated from the Tasmanian mainland by the D'Entrecasteaux Channel
. She was a daughter of Mangana, Chief of the Bruny Island people. Her name was the word her tribe used to describe the grey saltbush Atriplex cinerea
. Before she was eighteen, her mother had been killed by whalers, her first fiance had died while saving her from abduction
, and in 1828, her two sisters, Lowhenunhue and Maggerleede, had been abducted and taken to Kangaroo Island
, off South Australia
and sold as slaves. Trugernanner married Woorrady
, although he died when she was still in her twenties.
When Lieutenant-Governor George Arthur
arrived in Van Diemen's Land in 1824, he implemented two policies to deal with the growing conflict between settlers and the Aborigines. First, bounties were awarded for the capture of Aboriginal adults and children, and secondly an effort was made to establish friendly relations with Aborigines in order to lure them into camps. The campaign began on Bruny Island where there had been fewer hostilities than in other parts of Tasmania.
In 1830, George Augustus Robinson
, the Protector of Aborigines
, moved Trugernanner and Woorrady to Flinders Island
with the last surviving Tasmanian Aborigines, numbering approximately one hundred. The stated aim of isolation was to save them, but many of the group died from influenza
and other diseases. Trugernanner also helped Robinson with a settlement for mainland Aborigines at Port Phillip
in 1838. After about 2 years of living in and around Melbourne they became outlaw
s, stealing from settlers around Dandenong before heading to Bass River and then Cape Paterson where members of their group murdered two whalers at Watsons hut then shot and injured other settlers around the area. A long pursuit followed where those responsible for the murders were captured, sent for trial then hanged in Melbourne. A gunshot wound to Trugernanner's head was treated by Doctor Hugh Anderson of Bass River before she and her party were sent to stand trial in Melbourne, resulting in her being sent back to Flinders Island. In 1856, the few surviving Tasmanian Aborigines on Flinders Island, including Trugernanner, were moved to a settlement at Oyster Cove, south of Hobart
.
she later married a Tasmanian known as "King Billy"
who died in March 1871. By 1873, Trugernanner was the sole survivor of the Oyster Cove group, and was again moved to Hobart
. She died three years later, having requested that her ashes be scattered in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel
; she was, however, buried at the former Female Factory
at Cascades, a suburb of Hobart. Within two years, her skeleton was exhumed by the Royal Society of Tasmania
and later placed on display. Only in April 1976, approaching the centenary of her death, Trugernanner's remains were finally cremated and scattered according to her wishes.
Trugernanner is considered to be the last full-blood speaker of a Tasmanian language. Fanny Cochrane Smith
, who spoke one of the Tasmanian languages, outlived her, however. A woman of mixed descent, she lived into the twentieth century, and recorded songs in her native language.
In 1997 the Royal Albert Memorial Museum
, Exeter
, England, returned Trugernanner's necklace and bracelet to Tasmania
. In 2002, some of her hair and skin were found in the collection of the Royal College of Surgeons of England
and returned to Tasmania for burial.
Half-caste
Half-caste is a term used to describe people of mixed race or ethnicity. Caste comes from the Latin castus, meaning pure, and the derivative Portuguese and Spanish casta, meaning race...
" Palawa
Tasmanian Aborigines
The Tasmanian Aborigines were the indigenous people of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Before British colonisation in 1803, there were an estimated 3,000–15,000 Parlevar. A number of historians point to introduced disease as the major cause of the destruction of the full-blooded...
(Tasmanian Aborigine).
There are a number of other transcription
Transcription (linguistics)
Transcription in the linguistic sense is the systematic representation of language in written form. The source can either be utterances or preexisting text in another writing system, although some linguists only consider the former as transcription.Transcription should not be confused with...
s (or spellings) of her Palawa 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....
name, including: Trugannini, Trucanini, Trucaminni, and Trucaninny. Trugernanner was also widely known by the nickname Lalla Rooke.
Early life
Trugernanner was born circa 1812 on Bruny Island, south of the TasmaniaTasmania
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...
n capital 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...
, and separated from the Tasmanian mainland by the D'Entrecasteaux Channel
D'Entrecasteaux Channel
The D'Entrecasteaux Channel is a region of water between Bruny Island and the south-east of the mainland of Tasmania. It extends between the estuaries of the Derwent, and the Huon Rivers...
. She was a daughter of Mangana, Chief of the Bruny Island people. Her name was the word her tribe used to describe the grey saltbush Atriplex cinerea
Atriplex
Atriplex is a plant genus of 100-200 species, known by the common names of saltbush and orache . The genus is quite variable and widely distributed. It includes many desert and seashore plants and halophytes, as well as plants of moist environments...
. Before she was eighteen, her mother had been killed by whalers, her first fiance had died while saving her from abduction
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
, and in 1828, her two sisters, Lowhenunhue and Maggerleede, had been abducted and taken to Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island is Australia's third-largest island after Tasmania and Melville Island. It is southwest of Adelaide at the entrance of Gulf St Vincent. Its closest point to the mainland is off Cape Jervis, on the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula in the state of South Australia. The island is long...
, off South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
and sold as slaves. Trugernanner married Woorrady
Doctor Wooreddy's Prescription for Enduring the Ending of the World
Doctor Wooreddy's Prescription for Enduring the Ending of the World is an historical novel by Mudrooroo Nyoongah, first published in 1983. Though the protagonist Wooreddy is fictional, the novel deals largely with the real-life George Augustus Robinson, who was sent by Great Britain to Tasmania to...
, although he died when she was still in her twenties.
When Lieutenant-Governor George Arthur
George Arthur
Lieutenant-General Sir George Arthur, 1st Baronet KCH PC was Lieutenant Governor of British Honduras , Van Diemen's Land and Upper Canada . He also served as Governor of Bombay .-Early life:George Arthur was born in Plymouth, England...
arrived in Van Diemen's Land in 1824, he implemented two policies to deal with the growing conflict between settlers and the Aborigines. First, bounties were awarded for the capture of Aboriginal adults and children, and secondly an effort was made to establish friendly relations with Aborigines in order to lure them into camps. The campaign began on Bruny Island where there had been fewer hostilities than in other parts of Tasmania.
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...
, the Protector of Aborigines
Protector of Aborigines
The role of Protectors of Aborigines resulted from a recommendation of the report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons on Aborigines . On 31 January 1838, Lord Glenelg, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies sent Governor Gipps the report.The report recommended that Protectors of...
, moved Trugernanner and Woorrady to Flinders Island
Flinders 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...
with the last surviving Tasmanian Aborigines, numbering approximately one hundred. The stated aim of isolation was to save them, but many of the group died from influenza
Influenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
and other diseases. Trugernanner also helped Robinson with a settlement for mainland Aborigines at Port Phillip
Port Phillip
Port Phillip Port Phillip Port Phillip (also commonly referred to as Port Phillip Bay or (locally) just The Bay, is a large bay in southern Victoria, Australia; it is the location of Melbourne. Geographically, the bay covers and the shore stretches roughly . Although it is extremely shallow for...
in 1838. After about 2 years of living in and around Melbourne they became outlaw
Outlaw
In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...
s, stealing from settlers around Dandenong before heading to Bass River and then Cape Paterson where members of their group murdered two whalers at Watsons hut then shot and injured other settlers around the area. A long pursuit followed where those responsible for the murders were captured, sent for trial then hanged in Melbourne. A gunshot wound to Trugernanner's head was treated by Doctor Hugh Anderson of Bass River before she and her party were sent to stand trial in Melbourne, resulting in her being sent back to Flinders Island. In 1856, the few surviving Tasmanian Aborigines on Flinders Island, including Trugernanner, were moved to a settlement at Oyster Cove, south of 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...
.
Final years and legacy
According to a report in The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
she later married a Tasmanian known as "King Billy"
William Lanne
William Lanne was a Tasmanian Aborigine. He is most well known as the last full-blooded Aboriginal Tasmanian man....
who died in March 1871. By 1873, Trugernanner was the sole survivor of the Oyster Cove group, and was again moved to 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...
. She died three years later, having requested that her ashes be scattered in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel
D'Entrecasteaux Channel
The D'Entrecasteaux Channel is a region of water between Bruny Island and the south-east of the mainland of Tasmania. It extends between the estuaries of the Derwent, and the Huon Rivers...
; she was, however, buried at the former Female Factory
Cascades Female Factory
Cascades Female Factory was an Australian prison in South Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.The site comprises five yards, cemetery and outbuildings and is contained within a rectangular city block....
at Cascades, a suburb of Hobart. Within two years, her skeleton was exhumed by the Royal Society of Tasmania
Royal Society of Tasmania
The Royal Society of Tasmania was formed in 1844.The RST was the first Royal Society outside the United Kingdom. It started as the "Tasmanian Society" formed by Sir John Franklin assisted by Ronald Campbell Gunn....
and later placed on display. Only in April 1976, approaching the centenary of her death, Trugernanner's remains were finally cremated and scattered according to her wishes.
Trugernanner is considered to be the last full-blood speaker of a Tasmanian language. Fanny Cochrane Smith
Fanny Cochrane Smith
Fanny Cochrane Smith, was a Tasmanian Aborigine, born in December 1834. She is considered to be the last fluent speaker of a Tasmanian language, and her wax cylinder recordings of songs are the only audio recordings of any of Tasmania's indigenous languages.-Life:Fanny Cochrane's mother and...
, who spoke one of the Tasmanian languages, outlived her, however. A woman of mixed descent, she lived into the twentieth century, and recorded songs in her native language.
In 1997 the Royal Albert Memorial Museum
Royal Albert Memorial Museum
Royal Albert Memorial Museum on Queen Street, Exeter, Devon, England is the largest museum in the city.-History:Initially proposed by Sir Stafford Northcote as a practical memorial to Prince Albert, an appeal fund was launched in 1861 and the first phases of the building were completed by 1868...
, Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
, England, returned Trugernanner's necklace and bracelet to 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...
. In 2002, some of her hair and skin were found in the collection of the Royal College of Surgeons of England
Royal College of Surgeons of England
The Royal College of Surgeons of England is an independent professional body and registered charity committed to promoting and advancing the highest standards of surgical care for patients, regulating surgery, including dentistry, in England and Wales...
and returned to Tasmania for burial.
Cultural references
- "Truganini" is the name of a song by Midnight OilMidnight OilMidnight Oil , were an Australian rock band from Sydney originally performing as Farm from 1972 with drummer Rob Hirst, bass guitarist Andrew James and keyboard player/lead guitarist Jim Moginie...
; this song spoke partly of Trugernanner herself but also of what Midnight Oil saw as Australia's environmental and social problems. - Truganina, VictoriaTruganina, VictoriaTruganina is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 21 km west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Wyndham and Shire of Melton....
, a suburb of MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, is possibly named after her. - In the roman à clefRoman à clefRoman à clef or roman à clé , French for "novel with a key", is a phrase used to describe a novel about real life, overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship between the nonfiction and the fiction...
Doctor Wooreddy's Prescription for Enduring the Ending of the WorldDoctor Wooreddy's Prescription for Enduring the Ending of the WorldDoctor Wooreddy's Prescription for Enduring the Ending of the World is an historical novel by Mudrooroo Nyoongah, first published in 1983. Though the protagonist Wooreddy is fictional, the novel deals largely with the real-life George Augustus Robinson, who was sent by Great Britain to Tasmania to...
, one of the main characters is Trugernanna, a somewhat-fictional portrayal of Trugernanner. - A steamer called 'Truganini' sailed in the South Seas in 1886, visiting Papua New GuineaPapua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
. - A racehorse named 'Truganini' ran in Britain in the early 20th century
See also
- Black WarBlack WarThe Black War is a term used to describe a period of conflict between British colonists and Tasmanian Aborigines in the early nineteenth century...
- Doctor Wooreddy's Prescription for Enduring the Ending of the WorldDoctor Wooreddy's Prescription for Enduring the Ending of the WorldDoctor Wooreddy's Prescription for Enduring the Ending of the World is an historical novel by Mudrooroo Nyoongah, first published in 1983. Though the protagonist Wooreddy is fictional, the novel deals largely with the real-life George Augustus Robinson, who was sent by Great Britain to Tasmania to...
- Tasmanian AboriginesTasmanian AboriginesThe Tasmanian Aborigines were the indigenous people of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Before British colonisation in 1803, there were an estimated 3,000–15,000 Parlevar. A number of historians point to introduced disease as the major cause of the destruction of the full-blooded...
External links
- Truganini (1812-1876) National Library of Australia, Trove, People and Organisation record for Truganini
- Images of Truganini in State Library of Tasmania collection
- Truganini
- Great Australian Women: Truganinni
- Companion to Tasmanian History: Truganini
- (Essay) The Representation of Trucanini
- (Article) Truganini's Funeral
- (Radio Feature) Truganini - Bushranger
- Australian Dictionary of Biography (Online edition)
- Companion to Tasmanian History: Oyster Cove