One of the most familiar names in the story of Australian colonisation is that of the Tasmanian Aboriginal woman ‘Truganini’. But for most people the story begins and ends with a single, very famous photo, along with a label describing her simply as the last of the full-blood Tasmanian Aborigines.
Not only was that label deeply misleading, we now know that Truganini’s life is one of the most significant foundation stories of European settlement in Australia. But there’s still one story that few people know about and about which little has been written—it’s the extraordinary tale of Truganini’s time as a bushranger.
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Broadcast on Hindsight, ABC RN, on 08-02-2009
© 2009, Michael Shirrefs & ABC RN
Guests
- James Boyce—Historian and author of Van Diemen’s Land
- Peter Christiansen—Historian and author of the essay ‘The Western Port Outbreak, 1841’, published in Heat 08 – And So Forth
- Beverly Davis—Coordinator of the Bruny Island Historical Society and the Bruny Island History Room
- Greg Lehman—Manager of Aboriginal Education in Tasmania, writer and a member of the Tasmanian Aboriginal community
- Lyndall Ryan—Historian and author of The Aboriginal Tasmanians
- Shirley Westaway—Local historian in South Gippsland, Victoria
Publications
- Title—The Western Port Outbreak, 1841
- Author—Peter Christianen
- Publisher—Giramondo Publishing
- Description—Published in ‘Heat 08 – And So Forth’
ISBN—0-920882-05-7
- Title—Van Diemen’s Land
- Author—James Boyce
- Publisher—Black Inc, 2008
- ISBN—9781-8639-5413-6
- Title—The Aboriginal Tasmanians
- Author—Lyndall Ryan
- Publisher—Allen & Unwin, 1996
- ISBN—9781-8637-3965-8
Further Information
Acknowledgments
Thanks go to the National Library of Australia, The Mitchell Library, The State Library of Victoria, Tony Brown, Julie Gough, Richard Flanagan and Elva Press.
Credits
- Producer—Michael Shirrefs
- Readers—Zulfikar Abbany / John Reid / James Freemantle / Selena Sullivan / Jan Wozitsky
- Composer—Michael Shirrefs