Aborigines of Tasmania 1859 (with detail)

In my previous photograph of the gallery you'll see how Robert Dowling's "Aborigines of Tasmania 1859" takes pride of place in the main room of the QVMAG at Launceston. That's because it is the most historically significant work in the entire collection.

The story is a massive one and I can only give you an outline, with links for those who wish to follow up the many important trails that lead to greater awareness of Tasmanian history.

When I first saw this painting years ago my reaction was typical of many. I was in awe of the sheer beauty and sympathetic portrayal of significant indigenous figures in the landscape. It was painted at the mid-point of what had been a disastrous century for the original people who populated the island of Lutruwita.

Previously, I've also featured an album which looks at the permanent display of First Nations history and culture in Lutruwita (Tasmania) which can be viewed at the QVMAG. www.flickr.com/photos/luminosity7/albums/72157719166799616

So please bear with me and I hope that you'll take the time to read this description. More than ever we need to be educated in the past so that we do not repeat the error of our ways.

There are several facts about this work:

1. It was painted by Robert Hawker Dowling (1827-1886) in 1859. Dowling was the son of a clergyman who arrived in Launceston in 1839 and set up his own studio painting colonial portraits. Between 1859 and 1882 he exhibited 16 paintings at the Royal Academy in London (no small feat for a colonial painter of the time). nga.gov.au/exhibitions/robert-dowling/

2. Dowling made at least two versions of this painting - set in completely different landscapes. An earlier rendition (1857) is found in the National Gallery of Victoria. www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/work/5514/

3. The former convict artist Thomas Bock (1790-1855) assisted Dowling in the arrangement of the tableau of people. Although Bock died before these paintings were completed, he had already made portraits of some of the principal figures and his sketches helped Dowling, who had never met the people concerned. You'll see the Bock sketch identifying the figures in the detail of my photograph. I also have a soft spot for Thomas Bock, as he was one of the very first people in Van Diemen's Land to adopt the camera. In 1843 he essentially gave up portrait painting to set up one of the first commercial studios in Australia making Daguerreotypes. tasmaniantimes.com/2022/08/thomas-bocks-notes-on-photogra...

4. The painting presents representatives of the various tribal regions on the island before the land clearances of the 1820s and 30s. In other words they represent an idealised past at least a generation before the painting was made. There are four figures specifically named in the sketch: Trugernana, also known as Truganini; her husband Woureddy (the supposed chief of Bruny Island); Larratong, a tribal elder from Cape Grim (the area around Stanley where the Van Diemen's Land Company ruthlessly cleared the land of its original inhabitants); and, Manalargenna from the east coast. These were people known to Thomas Bock and Benjamin Duterrau, despite the fact Dowling had never met them. www.flickr.com/photos/luminosity7/50574273352/in/album-72...

It can be argued that the artists (more so than most colonists) in fact represented a very sympathetic portrayal of indigenous people. I've already documented the work of radical stonemason Daniel Herbert, and the sympathetic way he presented Aborigines on the Ross Bridge. www.flickr.com/photos/luminosity7/50373696306/in/album-72...
And in Herbert's case, he wanted nothing less than divine retribution for the dark deeds that had been done in the so-called Black Wars.

Perhaps there is no figure more misunderstood in Tasmanian history than Trugernana-Truganini (c.1812-1876). The tragic myth that developed around her life was that she was the "last representative of her race". This was a patent lie, and the many Tasmanian people today who can claim indigenous ancestry to the Palawa people is evidence of this. The photographer Ricky Maynard has well documented this photographically. www.flickr.com/photos/luminosity7/53071846594/in/dateposted/

There is a beautiful portrait of Truganini by Benjamin Duterrau in 1834:
www.flickr.com/photos/luminosity7/50574362547/in/album-72...
She was indeed a formidable woman. A real survivor and one can imagine how legends grew up around her story. In fact a recent book by Cassandra Pybus gives us as much of the truth as she was able to muster. www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Cassandra-Pybus-Trugani...
The book also has on its cover one the the truly great photographs of Peter Dombrovskis. www.flickr.com/photos/luminosity7/50599865728/in/album-72...

I'd love to tell you the story of Truganini and Woureddy, but far better for you to listen to Cassandra Pybus tell the tale.
"Truganini: Journey through the apocalypse - Cassandra Pybus"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=x582BOeo0Ec

In short then (because there is so much more that could be said), Robert Dowling's, "Aborigines of Tasmania 1859" seeks to restore a measure of dignity to a people who were so desperately mistreated. Just one terrible example: Truganini's skeleton was on display at the Tasmanian Museum in Hobart until as recently as 1951!

Any true reconciliation can only come about when we deal with the facts of history and move forward together into a future of redemption, forgiveness and restitution.

Taken in: Australia / Tasmania / Launceston (show map)

Taken on: June 15, 2023

Tags:

Luminosity7

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QVMAG

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Aborigines of Tasmania 1859

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Robert Hawker Dowling (1827-1886)

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Van Diemen's Land

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