More than 150 years ago surgeon and politician William Crowther allegedly stole the skull of an Aboriginal leader, William Lanne, from Hobart’s morgue. Today, the crime remains a topic of debate in the city as Crowther’s statue, which once stood tall in the central square, lies in ruins – its feet chopped off by vandals.
In the middle of Hobart, Tasmania, the bronze monument once stood on an oak-lined square. Previously, the statue had been cut off at the ankles, leaving only the severed bronze feet, the BBC reported. The vandalism, as well as the spray-painted words “he who walks” on its base, were symbolic of a larger conflict – debates about colonialism, racism and Tasmania’s dark history of treatment of its Aboriginal people.
William Crowther’s infamy stems from an incident that took place over 150 years ago, when he allegedly broke into a mortuary and mutilated the body of an Aboriginal leader, William Lanne. Lanne’s skull was stolen and later sent abroad as a trophy, reflecting the colonists’ view of the extinction of Tasmanian Aboriginal people. Today, Lanne’s descendants and many in the Aboriginal community see Crowther as a symbol of colonial brutality and destruction.
William Lan, often referred to as the last “full-blooded” Aboriginal Tasmanian, is a symbol of the tragic history of Tasmania’s indigenous population and the mistreatment they suffered at the hands of British colonists. Born around 1835, Lan was part of the Palawa people, the original inhabitants of Tasmania (formerly Van Diemen’s Land). Lan was forcibly removed from his homeland and had to live in two infamous camps set up to imprison Aboriginal people. He is remembered as a shipmate and advocate for his people.
William Lane, once thought to be the last Aboriginal man in Tasmania, became the subject of scientific exploitation. He died of disease in 1869 at the age of 34. Before his burial in 1869, his body parts, including his arms, legs and skull, were stolen by doctors eager to study the so-called “missing link” between humans and Neanderthals. Although Crowther denied involvement, the scandal rocked the town at the time, leading to his suspension from the hospital.
For Aboriginal activists such as Nala Mansell, the statue of William Crowther represents not just a person but the false narrative that Aboriginal Tasmanians were wiped out. In contrast, some Hobart residents, including Crowther’s descendants, see him as an important historical figure whose contributions should not be undermined by past misdeeds.
