Colonial art exhibition 'sheds new light' on Tasmania's brutal Black War
Updated
An exhibition of colonial artwork is aiming to shed new light on Tasmania's brutal Black War, in which hundreds of Indigenous people were killed.
In 1826, Governor George Arthur declared martial law against Aboriginal Tasmanians, and called for them to be expelled by force from settled areas.
At least 750 Aboriginal people were killed in the frontier conflict and more than 150 colonialists died, with many more injured.
The National Picture: The Art of Tasmania's Black War is a newly-assembled collection of paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints that examine British settlers' representations of Tasmanian Aboriginal people at the time.
The exhibition, which opened today at the National Gallery of Australia (NGA), was based on years of research by curators Tim Bonyhady and Greg Lehman, who aimed to provide fresh insight into Australia's colonial past.
It focuses heavily on controversial conciliator George Augustus Robinson, who was commissioned to encourage Aboriginal people to follow him to a promised sanctuary on Flinders Island, and the work of colonial artist Benjamin Duterrau.
Duterrau was a newly-arrived free settler, who became fascinated with Robinson's attempted role as peacemaker between Indigenous Tasmanians and the white settlers.
Professor Bonyhady said the artwork showed Duterrau and other artists had recognised what was happening in Tasmania had "momentous significance".
"They recognised the impact of colonisation on Aboriginal people had been catastrophic," he said.
Dr Lehman said while much had been written about this period, colonial artworks provided a rich visual insight.
"So that we can not only read about some of the Aboriginal people who were involved, but see portraits of them and understand them more," he said.
"We would like to try and tell their stories through this [exhibition]."
Pictorial boards still resonate
Among the most significant works in the exhibition are five 'proclamation boards', which were produced in Hobart around 1830 and were designed to communicate the consequences of hostility between the settlers and Indigenous Tasmanians.
At the height of the Black War, the colony's surveyor-general, George Frankland, observed the Aboriginal people had a pictorial language and suggested the government employ art as a way of communicating.
Professor Bonyhady said the boards were divided into a number of bands, with the first depicting equal treatment before the law.
"They show a settler shooting an Aboriginal and an Aboriginal spearing a settler, and in each case there is equal punishment with the killer being executed as a consequence," he said.
"In fact, we know that none of the settlers were strung up for killing Aboriginals, but this is what the boards show.
"Then they show a meeting between an Aboriginal chief and Governor Arthur shaking hands.
"Then in the final, top band, there is a happy interracial society where you have a white woman holding a black child and a black woman holding a white child.
"The message is that if we have equal treatment before law then we can settle our differences, reach agreement and produce a happy interracial society."
Dr Lehman said the boards resonated today.
"Particularly at the moment when there is a national conversation about constitutional recognition and treaty with Aboriginal people, these boards can be seen as an offer of a treaty," he said.
"There is a really clear commitment about equal rights and treatment before the law and an aspiration for a peaceful society.
"That central figure of an Aboriginal chief shaking hands with the Governor really symbolises to my eyes what a treaty is all about.
"Unfortunately, these boards are also a reminder of the injustice at those times and the continuing injustice. Even though we know there were a number of promises to Tasmanian Aboriginal people, all of those were broken.
"This show has some really important messages for the situation today."
Paintings brought from around the world
More than 100 of the boards were made at the time, but just seven remain today and they are dispersed across the world.
This exhibition will be the first time a group of the boards have been brought together.
It also features some of the only known portraits of Indigenous Tasmanians painted prior to and during their exile to Flinders Island.
Professor Bonyhady said one of the most striking portraits was of an Aboriginal man who Robinson had renamed "King Alexander".
"What is so striking about 'King Alexander' is that despite the European name that has been bestowed upon him, he is still in his traditional clothes," he said.
"It is an extraordinary, powerful manifestation of a deep desire to maintain culture."
The exhibition spans the start of the Black War in 1828 to Duterrau's death in 1851.
Aboriginal oral history and works from the 20th and 21st centuries sit alongside the colonial works.
NGA director Gerard Vaughan described the exhibition as "challenging, courageous and necessary".
"The NGA is proud to present this thoughtful and moving contribution to our ever-evolving national narrative," he said.
The exhibition runs until July 29 at the NGA before moving to Hobart and Launceston.
Topics: indigenous-culture, art-history, tas, canberra-2600
First posted
