Statue of skull-stealing Tasmanian premier to be removed

The statue of former Tasmanian premier William Crowther at Franklin Square in Hobart

The statue of former Tasmanian premier William Crowther at Franklin Square in Hobart Source: AAP / ANTHONY CORKE/AAPIMAGE

Traditional owners are hailing the City of Hobart's decision to remove a statue of a former state premier as an important step towards truth telling. The council voted to remove the statue of William Crowther, who stole the skull of an Aboriginal man in 1869.


For 133 years, a bronze statue of former Tasmanian premier William Crowther has stood tall in Hobart’s Franklin Square - right in the middle of the city.

But it's a sight that has long been uncomfortable for many. Nala Mansell is from the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre.

"To us that statue not only glorifies a man who was responsible for such racist and barbaric actions, but it also signifies how hard we’ve had to fight here in Tasmania to even be acknowledged as existing in this state."

William Crowther was Tasmania's premier for a year from 1878 to 79

The statue was erected a decade later, for what was described at the time as his 'political and professional service to the colony'.

Crowther was also a surgeon - and in 1868 he broke into a morgue, which was storing the body of Aboriginal man William Lanne.

Crowther stole his skull and and sent it to the Royal College of Surgeons in London.

"William Crowther was responsible for decapitating and mutilating Aboriginal man William Lanne because of his race, he did this to perpetuate the racist myth that Tasmanian Aboriginals no longer existed in this state, a racist view that we've seen supported by the Tasmanian Government right up until the 1980s."

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