Conflicting views of the Palawa people in early Vandemonian newspapers (1824-1844), by Leon Atkinson-MacEwen.

The development of the press in Van Diemen’s Land between 1824 and 1844 coincided with the conflict between the first nations palawa people of the island and the incoming British settlers. An examination of the newspapers of the period reveals a range of views about that conflict and about the subsequent removal of the palawa people to Flinders Island, as well as the journalists’ often deeply racist and offensive views about the palawa people themselves. It also reveals the way the press attempted to influence successive colonial governments in their dealings with the palawa people, particularly by encouraging their forced removal to Flinders Island, as well as their lack of interest in them once their numbers on that island began to decline.

A note: this presentation draws on sources that are occasionally highly confronting, and which often contain extremely racist views.

Jointly sponsored by the State Library and Archive Service of Tasmania and the Professional Historians Association Vic & Tas, the Libraries Tasmania Talks are a series of monthly public lectures held at the Hobart Library. They can be attended free at the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts or viewed online via the Webinar.

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