George Augustus Robinson
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George Augustus Robinson | |
---|---|
Born | London, England | 22 March 1791
Died | 18 October 1866 Bath, Somerset, England | (aged 75)
Occupation | Builder |
Known for | Protector of Aborigines |
Spouses | Maria Evans
(m. 1814; died 1848)Rose Pyne (m. 1853) |
Signature | |
George Augustus Robinson (22 March 1791 – 18 October 1866) was a British-born colonial official and self-trained preacher in
Early life
Robinson was born on 22 March 1791, probably in
Van Diemen's Land
Robinson arrived in Hobart in January 1824, having apparently nearly been a victim of Gregor MacGregor's fraudulent Poyais scheme. He established himself as a builder and was soon employing several men. He was secretary of the Bethel Union and was a committee member of the Auxiliary Bible Society, also helping to found the Van Diemen's Land Mechanics' Institution. He was joined by his wife and children in April 1826.[3]
Aboriginal Tasmanians
Conflicts between settlers and Aboriginal Tasmanians had vastly increased during the 1820s, which became known as the Black War. In 1830 Robinson investigated the Cape Grim massacre that had occurred in 1828 and reported that 30 Aborigines had been massacred. Robinson was to be brought in as a "conciliator" between settlers and Aboriginal people.[4] His mission was to round up the Aboriginal people to resettle them at the camp of Wybalenna on Flinders Island.
Robinson befriended Truganini, to whom he promised food, housing and security on Flinders Island until the situation on the mainland had calmed down. With Truganini, Robinson succeeded in forging an agreement with the Big River and Oyster Bay peoples, and by the end of 1835, nearly all the Aboriginal people had been relocated to the new settlement.
Robinson's involvement with the Aboriginal Tasmanians ended soon after this, though, and the Wybalenna settlement became more akin to a prison as the camp conditions deteriorated and many of the residents died of ill health and homesickness. Because of this, Robinson's place in history is generally viewed as negative, especially within the current Aboriginal community. Some historians agree that his initial intentions were genuine, but his abandonment of the community is viewed as a turning point for the worse for the Tasmanian Aboriginals. Moreover, his promises of providing a place where Aboriginal people could practise their cultural traditions and ceremonies never came to fruition.[citation needed]
Chief Protector of Aborigines in Port Phillip District
Robinson became Chief Protector of Aborigines in March 1839, managing the Protectorate of Port Phillip with the help of four Assistant Protectors, William Thomas, James Dredge, Edward Stone Parker and Charles Sievwright. Maria, Robinson's wife died in 1848.
During his decade of service as Chief Protector he made more than 20 expeditions into the four districts of the Aboriginal Protectorate.[5]
Robinson was paid a total of £8000 in his role as protector of Aborigines. He built a small community that included a church and coined the area 'Point Civilisation'. Many of the Aborigines who lived at the port had been removed under false pretenses from their true home in Tasmania.[6]
In 1841 and 1842, Robinson traveled to western Victoria with Tunnerminnerwait where he investigated and reported on the Convincing Ground massacre that had occurred in 1833 or 1834.[7] In 1841 he investigated a gunshot incident, and whilst travelling came across the aboriginal aquaculture site of Lake Condah, recording its dimensions.[8]
His journals are regarded as amongst the most important documents on the early years of European settlement in
Later life
The Port Phillip Protectorate was abolished on 31 December 1849, with Robinson receiving a pension. He returned to England in 1852 and the following year married Rose Pyne, with whom he had another five children. The couple spent five years living in Europe, mostly in Paris and Rome. In 1859 they settled in
Robinson in contemporary culture
Semi-fictional accounts of Robinson's travels are included in
Tasmanian artist Julie Gough referenced Robinson and his work in her recent exhibition Tense Past at Tasmania Museum & Art Gallery.[10]
Robinson and museum collections
During Robinson's time in
Notes
- ^ Paul Thomas. Austl. Indigenous Law Rev. 92 (2007). Scientific Theft of Remains in Colonial Australia. 92: 92-103
- ^ https://www.britishmuseum.org/sites/default/files/2019-11/Final_Dossier.pdf
- ^ a b c
"Robinson, George Augustus (1791–1866". ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- ^ Howarth, Carla (5 October 2019). "Planned dig at George Augustus Robinson historical site sparks Aboriginal concerns". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ISBN 1-876404-04-3.
- ^ BBC Four, Racism: A History, Part two of three, 'Fatal Impacts', Broadcast on Thursday 27 September 2007
- ISBN 0-85575-281-5 Excerpt also published on Museum Victoria website Archived 5 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 26 November 2008
- ^ "Aboriginal Aquaculture". Lapham's Quarterly. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- ^
Mark Twain, (Samuel Clemens) (18 August 2006) [First published 1897]. "Chapter 27: Man is the Only Animal that Blushes. Or needs to.". In Widger, David (ed.). Following the Equator (EBook #2895 ed.). Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
The Conciliator
- ^ Harmon, Steph (27 June 2019). "Murders, Massacres and the Black War". The Guardian.
- ^ Paul Thomas. Austl. Indigenous Law Rev. 92 (2007). Scientific Theft of Remains in Colonial Australia. 92: 92-103
- ^ https://www.britishmuseum.org/sites/default/files/2019-11/Final_Dossier.pdf
- ^ "Collection Search - George Augustus Robinson". The British Museum. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- ^ "George Augustus Robinson". The British Museum. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- ^ "Collection Search - George Augustus Robinson". Pitt Rivers Museum. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- ^ "Truggernana". Pitt Rivers Museum. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- ^ "Jenny". Pitt Rivers Museum. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- ^ "Fanny". Pitt Rivers Museum. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
References
- ISBN 0-522-84744-7
- ISBN 978-1-74237-068-2(esp. pp. 151–239)
- Serle, Percival (1949). "Robinson, George Augustus". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. Retrieved 13 October 2008.
External links
- George Augustus Robinson - State Library of NSW
- George Augustus Robinson - State Records of NSW
- the journals and papers of George Augustus Robinson (1791-1866) - NSW State Library Protector of Aborigines Heritage Collection
- Black Robinson: Protector of Aborigines. A controversial study of by Vivienne Rae-Ellis Melbourne University Press
- Calder, James E.(1875). Some Account of the Wars, Extirpation, Habits, &c., of the Native Tribes of Tasmania esp. p. 20