Rescued Devils and an Introduction to Muwinina Country – 2/9/18

As I begin this post, I’d like to acknowledge the Tasmanian Aboriginal Community and the people of the Hobart area, Muwinina country. As we spend time in this area, we bring with us respect and acknowledgment of the true people of this land.

 

Today we made our way to Hobart, leaving behind the platypus filled pools of Maydena for the largest city in Tasmania. Before entering Hobart, the group stopped at the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary to learn more about the mammals of Tasmania. The Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary provides a home for Tasmanian native animals that have been injured and would otherwise not survive in the wild, as well as a rehabilitation center for those that can be returned to the wild. Our tour was with Greg, the owner of the sanctuary, and much of the time spent in the sanctuary was learning about the mammals of Tasmania. Educating people, especially Tasmanians, about the importance of these animals and the dangers that confront them is a large priority of the sanctuary in hopes of reducing deaths to many of these endangered populations.

Many of the injuries to these mammals are caused by humans, whether through car accidents, poisoning or dog attacks. This sanctuary provides a home to these injured animals, but also informs people about these animals and why they need to be protected. Many Tasmanians are unaware that these mammals exist, such as the carnivorous Eastern Quoll or the Banded Bandicoot, just as they are unaware of the history of Tasmania. This day was spent immersing ourselves in both the biology, as well as the history of Tasmania in order to better understand this place we are studying in.

 

 

 

 

We continued to build on our knowledge of Tasmania through an excursion to learn about the history of the Aboriginal people of Tasmania. We had a tour of the Aboriginal exhibit at the Tasmania Museum & Art Gallery (TMAG). We began with a walk through of the exhibit Our Land: Parrawa Parrawa! Go Away! which discusses the Black War from both the perspective of European invaders and the Aboriginal people of this land. But it also recognizes the survival and the fight of the aboriginal people of Tasmania, who are still alive today. There is a perception that the Aboriginal people of Tasmania went extinct with the death of Trugannini, an Aboriginal woman that was written of in the history of this time. This belief persists with the myth that these people were already dying out, ignoring the massacres that were responsible for the deaths of many.

 The invasion of Tasmania (lutruwita) began in the early 1800s when Europeans first began to stay in Tasmania, and continued until the mid 1800s with the Black War, till all of the Aboriginal people had been killed, moved to reservations, or moved to mainland Australia. Those who were taken from Tasmania were forced into prison like reserves on islands and forced to assimilate into white culture. This mass genocide wasn’t discussed in Tasmania until recently, and there is still the belief that there are no Tasmanian Aboriginals alive today. Yet as our tour guide explained and has to explain to many who tell him this, he is a descendant of those taken to the Cape Barren Island and is a Tasmanian Aboriginal man. The ability to hear about his perception of this history and be educated about the true history of Tasmania will allow our group to explore and experience Tasmania while being mindful of its dark and painful history, but also the fight that continues on to preserve this culture and to recognize the land of lutruwita and its custodians.