Tunnerminnerwait & Maulboyheener (Born 1812 -
Died January 20, 1842, Port Phillip, Melbourne)
"The Tasmanian pair
were dubbed bloodthirsty outlaws, but activists have campaigned for their
recognition as freedom fighters resisting white settlement."
(Source:
The Age)
Portrait of
Tunnerminnerwait by Thomas Bock between 1831 and 1835.
"Tunnerminnerwait and
Maulboyheenner's story reveals key aspects of Aboriginal history in
Melbourne and beyond. These men were born in Tasmania and brought to
Melbourne in 1839 by George Augustus Robinson, 'Protector of Aborigines'. In
1842, they became the first people to be hanged in Melbourne after they were
convicted for the murder of two whale-hunters in the Western Port area.
Their execution was the biggest story of the day in the newspapers.
Their stories touch on the history of crime and punishment in early
Melbourne – the establishment of Melbourne in its wider context of conflict
over land, important legal questions debated at the time, the treatment of
Aboriginal people in Tasmania, and any historical and community links
between Port Phillip and Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania). Their stories are
central to an understanding of Melbourne's past, present and future."
(Source:
City of Melbourne)
Pre-Story: Batmania
- the Colony of Melbourne
To understand the times and history of
Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheener, have a look at the National Museum of
Australia's Batmania - the history of John Batman and his "Deed" to take
over the lands of current day Melbourne. (Source:
National Museum Australia)
Flash version:
Tunnerminnerwait & Maulboyheener: Their Story
"Tunnerminnerwait was born on
Robbins Island in Tasmania in 1812. He was the son of Keeghernewboyheener.
Tunnerminnerwait belonged to the Parperloihener clan of the Aboriginal North
West nation in Tasmania. His name means "waterbird".
Tunnerminnerwait spoke English well and was 5'8"(171 cm) tall. He was also
known as Peevay (Pevay, Napoleon, Jack of Cape Grim, Jack Napoleon
Tarraparrura and Tunninerpareway. His wife was Planobeena (Fanny) who was
the sister of Aboriginal leader and freedom fighter Eumarrah. (Source:Wikipedia)
Encounters with colonisers
Tunnerminnerwait grew up on the island of Tasmania, the second European
settlement area in Australia after Sydney Cove. Relations between the
Aboriginal people inhabiting the island and the settlers became very hostile
leading to attacks and massacres. The first massacre of Tasmanian Aboriginal
people occurred at Risden Cove in 1804, when troops fired on a group which
included women and children. By 1806 clashes between Aboriginal people and
settlers were common and the Cape Grim massacre occurred on 10 February
1828. According to historian Professor Lyndall Ryan, (University of
Newcastle) "Tunnerminnerwait had witnessed the Cape Grim massacre in
1828 as an 11-year-old, when a lot of his own people were killed. His whole
family had fallen apart as a result."
Tunnerminnerwait first met civil servant George Augustus Robinson, Chief
Protector of Aborigines, at Robbins Island in June 1830. He worked for
Robinson as one of his guides on expeditions around the island from 1830 to
1835. In October 1835 Tunnerminnerwait went with Robinson to Flinders
Island, a settlement where the remaining Aboriginal population were exiled.
Robinson spoke of him as 'an exceeding willing and industrious young man',
who was 'stout and well made, of good temper, and performed his work equal
to any white man'. (Source:Wikipedia)
George Augustus Robinson
Relocating to the mainland
Tunnerminnerwait and Planobeena were among sixteen Tasmanian Aborigines whom
George Robinson brought to Melbourne in 1839 with the intention that they
would help to ‘civilise’ the Victorian ‘blacks’ when he became Chief
Protector of Aborigines at Port Phillip.
Tunnerminnerwait went with George Robinson on a major tour of the Western
District from March to August 1841. During the tour they gathered
testimonies about frontier violence in the Western District and investigated
the Convincing Ground massacre in which between 60 and 200 members of a
Gunditjmara clan were killed by whale-hunters at Portland Bay. After his
return, Tunnerminnerwait and four others left Melbourne.(Source:Wikipedia)
Resistance
In September 1841, Tunnerminnerwait (Peevay) and Planobeena (Fanny) and
three others, including Truganini and Timme
[Maulboyheener] waged an eight-week campaign of resistance against
the European settlement in the Port Philip area. They stole two guns and
some ammunition from a settler's hut at Bass River. They robbed stations
from Dandenong to Western Port and South Gippsland districts on the
outskirts of Melbourne over the next seven weeks. They wounded four white
men and killed two.
It took three military expeditions to successfully track and capture them,
with the help of native police. All five were captured in November 1841.(Source:Wikipedia)
Trial and judgement
They appeared before Judge Willis on 20 December 1841 in Melbourne, charged
with murder. The five were defended by Redmond Barry who was the standing
Defence Council for Aborigines. Barry questioned the legal basis of British
authority over Aborigines who were not citizens and claimed that the
evidence was dubious and circumstantial. None of the five people charged
were permitted to give evidence in court.
The Supreme Court found the two men, Tunnerminnerwait ('Jack Napoleon
Tarraparrura') and Timme ('Robert Timmy Jimmy Small-boy'
- Maulboyheener) guilty of the murder of the two whalers, Cook and
Yankey at Western Port on 6 October 1841. Tunnerminnerwait was reported as
saying that 'after his death he would join his father in Van Diemen's Land
and hunt kangaroo'.(Source:Wikipedia)
Death
Together with Timme [Maulboyheener],
Tunnerminnerwait was executed for murder on 20 January 1842. They were the
first public executions to take place in the District of Port Phillip, the
colony to become known as Melbourne.
Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner were the first people to be hanged by
the Government in the District of Port Phillip, in 1842. A total of six
people were hanged that year. The six hangings of 1842 remain the only
judicially approved public executions in Melbourne’s history, giving them
particular historical significance."
(Source:Wikipedia)
Did You Know?
Tunnerminnerwait (c.1812-1842) was an Australian
aboriginal resistance fighter and Parperloihener clansman from Tasmania. He
was also known by several other names including Peevay, Jack of Cape Grim,
Tunninerpareway and renamed Jack Napoleon Tarraparrura by George
Augustus Robinson.(Source:
Wikipedia)
"His [Tunnerminnerwait]
country was in the North West nation as a Pairelehoinner clansman from Cape
Grim. When Robinson met him he was a young man about 17 years old (he was
about 24 years old in 1836 (Plomley, 1987: 831)) and had been living with a
group of Straitsmen on Hunter Island for a few weeks. At the request of the
Straitsmen he joined Robinson's expedition on 21 June 1830. Peevay spoke
English well and, according to Robinson, was a teasing and 'good natured'
young man of 'stout build' and 5 '8"[171 cm] tall.
Peevay married Plorenernoopperner, who was also known by her other names
Jock and Fanny (Plomley, 1966: 993 & 1987: 858). He was one of Robinson's
guides on the expeditions around the island from 1830 to 1835, after which
time he entered the establishment at Wybalenna and joined the clanspeople
who were living in exile. He accompanied Robinson to Victoria where he left
Robinson's care for the freedom of the bush. Peevay was reported as being
one of several Trouwunnan clanspeople who went on a murderous venture in the
Victorian bush causing fear among the white population in the southeast of
the state. He and his fellow clansman Timme were caught and charged with the
killing of the two whalers at Cape Paterson in October 1841. The two young
clansmen were found guilty of the murders and were both hanged on 20 January
1842 (Plomley, 1987: 848). Peevey was about 30 years old when he died - his
remains were most likely disposed of in the Melbourne colonial prison
cemetery." (Source:
University of Tasmania: Peevay (Tunnerminnerwait)
2. After reading and listening to
Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheener's lives and their actions in 1841, decide
as a group whether they are "Freedom Fighters" or "Terrorists". You have to give reasons
[based on evidence] for your thoughts not just opinions. List all the
questions that you think still need answering.
3. As a class, debate the question
"Tunnerminnerwait
and Maulboyheener -
Can You Tell the
Difference?"
4. When you hear of other Freedom
Fighters or Terrorist in the news - what questions do you think need to be
answered before you reach any conclusions?
Online:
George Augustus Robinson - Friend or Foe? A WebQuest
MiddleSecondary
Australian
Curriculum General Capability: ICT Capability
Australian
Curriculum General Capability: Critical & Creative Thinking
Australian
Curriculum General Capability: Literacy
Australian
Curriculum Cross Curriculum Priorities:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures
2. Your task is to decide whether George Augustus
Robinson should be fondly remembered as an honourable, innocent man of good
intentions or as a greedy man who is guilty of deceiving the Indigenous
people of Van Diemen's Land in the 1800s.
In groups you will research the people and events that shaped the differing
views regarding George Augustus Robinson. Some groups will be responsible
for researching events while others will be responsible for examining the
personalities of those people who shaped the events of the time.
You will come to a conclusion about how George Augustus Robinson should be
remembered by taking part in a Court hearing and discussing and analysing
each piece of evidence that has been collected.
3. Make sure that Tunnerminnerwait or Maulboyheener are
represented.
4. How will you regard
Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheener - as Freedom Fighters or Criminals? What
reasons can you present for both cases?