Ben Lomond National Park
Encyclopedia
The Ben Lomond National Park is located in the northeast of the Australia
n state of Tasmania
, about 50 km east of Launceston
. The park has an area of 18,192 ha and was established on 23 July 1947. It is classified by BirdLife International
as an Important Bird Area
because it supports populations of the Flame Robin
and of at least ten Tasmanian endemic bird species, for which it is a representative protected area in north-eastern Tasmania.
The namesake of the park is the mountain Ben Lomond
, which is the second highest Tasmanian mountain after Mount Ossa. The highest peak of the mountain is actually named Legges Tor
, but the term Ben Lomond is more commonly used. The mountain is one of the few skiing areas of Tasmania.
In September 1829, John Batman
(aged 28), with the assistance of several "Sydney blacks" he brought to Tasmania, led an attack on an Aboriginal family group together numbering 60–70 men, women and children in the Ben Lomond
district of north-east Tasmania. Waiting until 11pm that night before attacking, he "...ordered the men to fire upon them..." as their 40-odd dogs raised the alarm and the Aborigines ran away into thick scrub, killing an estimated 15 people. The next morning, he left the place for his farm, with two badly wounded Tasmanian men, a woman and her two-year old boy, all of whom he captured. However, he "...found it impossible that the two former [the men] could walk, and after trying them by every means in my power, for some time, found I could not get them on I was obliged to shoot them." The captured woman, named Luggenemenener, was later sent to Campbell Town gaol and separated from her two-year old son, Rolepana, "...whom she had faced death to protect." Batman reported afterwards to British Colonial Secretary, John Burnett, in a letter of 7 September 1829, that he kept the child because he wanted "...to rear it...". Luggenemenener died on 21 March 1837 as an inmate at the Flinders Island settlement.
Later, Rolepana (aged 8 years), child-survivor of a massacre by a 'roving party' led by John Batman, travelled with him as part of the founding party of Melbourne
in 1835. After Batman's death in 1839, Rolepana would have been 12 years old. Boyce notes that Rolepana was employed by colonist George Ware at 12 Pounds a year with Board on Batman's death, "...but what became of him after this is also unknown." However, Haebich records Rolepana as having died in Melbourne in 1842 (he would have been about 15 years). She also says that:
In late 1830, as the infamous 'Black Line' (also known as the Black War) was being disbanded elsewhere in Tasmania, George Augustus Robinson
spent a week in north-east Tasmania, searching without success, for the "Ben Lomond-Penny Royal Creek people". In December, 1830, with 33 Tasmanian Aborigines having been removed to nearby Swan Island
, Robinson sent a party to look for the Ben Lomond people, again unsuccessfully.
After the failure of the 'Black Line' in 1830, Colonial Governor George Arthur
announced on 14 March 1831 his new policy of the removal of Aborigines from Tasmania. By then, 34 Tasmanian Aborigines were interned on Swan Island
. In August, 1831, Robinson "....gave an unequivocal commitment that if hostilities ceased, Aborigines would be protected and have their essential needs met by the government while being able to live and hunt within their own districts. These concessions, combined with the promised return of their women from the sealers, were the documented terms under which Mannalargenna joined [Robinson's] embassy." But Robinson's commitment was deceitful. As Boyce notes, "Robinson must have been well aware that the agreement he had reached with Mannalargenna contradicted his own undertakings to the Aborigines Committee and the executive council [to Governor George Arthur
]." Mannalargenna insisted in his August 1831 negotiations with Robinson on "...a direct meeting..." with Governor George Arthur
and in October 1831, he got this in Hobart.
Mannalargenna
, an Aboriginal leader who organised guerrilla attacks against British soldiers in Tasmania during the period known as the Black War
, was a Plangermaireener (one of the 3 bands) elder, and in 1835 became the first Aborigine in Tasmania to be given a "Christian" burial.
Historian Henry Reynolds notes of George Augustus Robinson
: "His [Robinson's] guilt and need for self-justification were clearly apparent in a eulogy he delivered on the death of Manalargenna in December 1836. He paid generous tribute to his old companion's intelligence, resourcefulness and affability. Robinson clearly thought him a great man. What is more he understood and sympathised with Manalargenna's political views. The chief was, Robinson explained, 'fully sensible of the injustices done to himself and people in the usurpation of his country by the white intruders'. But now Manalargenna would go to heaven, he told the [Tasmanian Aboriginal] community [interned on Flinders Island], which was much better than returning to his homeland. Mannalargenna died of pneumonia as an inmate on the Flinders Island Aboriginal settlement.
Mannalargenna is also recorded as the leader of the "Oyster Bay Tribe".
Walter George Arthur, son of a Ben Lomond
elder, was the Wybalenna "activist" who petitioned Queen Victoria in 1846. Historian Henry Reynolds book, Fate of a Free People, covers the activism of Walter George Arthur. Walter George Arthur was born about 1820. His father Rolepa, was a "...leading man of the Ben Lomond
tribe.." and known to Europeans as 'King George'. Walter was separated from his family in unrecorded circumstances and lived for several years around Launceston, Tasmania
as one of numerous vagrant children. When taken into custody by George Augustus Robinson
he was a "professional thief". He was sent to the Boy's Orphan School in Hobart
in 1832. In 1835, he was sent to Wybalenna settlement on Flinders Island
where he remained until 1838. He and his wife Mary-Anne went with Robinson when he was appointed Protector of Aborigines at Port Phillip [Victoria], returning to Flinders Island
in 1842. In 1856,while living at the government settlement of Oyster Cove, he applied (but was refused by the Superintendent] for permission to hire a convict pass-holder to work on his farm. In 1858, he and his wife applied for land in the Huon Valley
near Hobart under the Waste Land Act. They were told they would have to abstain from alcohol for a year before he would be considered. Soon after May 1861, he drowned in a boating accident on the Derwent River
as he and another Tasmanian Aborigine, Jack Allen, were returning to Oyster Cove from work on a whaling ship.
The 19th century artist, John Glover (artist)
, captioned one of his Tasmanian paintings, Batman's Lookout, Benn Lomond (1835) "...on account of Mr Batman frequenting this spot to entrap the Natives." Between 1828 and 1830, Tasmanians in this region were shot or rounded up by bounty hunters like John Batman
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n state of Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, about 50 km east of Launceston
Launceston, Tasmania
Launceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart...
. The park has an area of 18,192 ha and was established on 23 July 1947. It is classified by BirdLife International
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...
as an Important Bird Area
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...
because it supports populations of the Flame Robin
Flame Robin
The Flame Robin is a small passerine bird native to Australia. It is a moderately common resident of the coolest parts of south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Like the other two red-breasted Petroica robins—the Scarlet Robin and the Red-capped Robin—it is often simply but...
and of at least ten Tasmanian endemic bird species, for which it is a representative protected area in north-eastern Tasmania.
The namesake of the park is the mountain Ben Lomond
Ben Lomond (Tasmania)
Ben Lomond, 1,570 m AHD , is a mountain in the north of Tasmania. It is east of Launceston in the Ben Lomond National Park...
, which is the second highest Tasmanian mountain after Mount Ossa. The highest peak of the mountain is actually named Legges Tor
Legges Tor
Legges Tor is a mountain in the Ben Lomond National Park in Tasmania, Australia. It is the second highest mountain in Tasmania. It is a major feature of the national park, and is a popular venue with bushwalkers and mountain climbers....
, but the term Ben Lomond is more commonly used. The mountain is one of the few skiing areas of Tasmania.
Aboriginal land-owners of Ben Lomond
The Ben Lomond tribe consisted of three and possibly four bands totalling 150–200 people who occupied 260 km2 (100 sq mi) of country surrounding the 182 km2 (70 sq mi) Ben Lomond plateau. Until 12,000 years ago, the plateau was covered by an ice cap, leaving it largely devoid of soil and lacking in resources.In September 1829, John Batman
John Batman
John Batman was an Australian grazier, businessman and explorer who is best known for his role in the founding of a settlement which became Melbourne and the colony of Victoria.-Life:...
(aged 28), with the assistance of several "Sydney blacks" he brought to Tasmania, led an attack on an Aboriginal family group together numbering 60–70 men, women and children in the Ben Lomond
Ben Lomond
Ben Lomond , , is a distinctive mountain in the Scottish Highlands. Situated on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond, it is the most southerly of the Munros...
district of north-east Tasmania. Waiting until 11pm that night before attacking, he "...ordered the men to fire upon them..." as their 40-odd dogs raised the alarm and the Aborigines ran away into thick scrub, killing an estimated 15 people. The next morning, he left the place for his farm, with two badly wounded Tasmanian men, a woman and her two-year old boy, all of whom he captured. However, he "...found it impossible that the two former [the men] could walk, and after trying them by every means in my power, for some time, found I could not get them on I was obliged to shoot them." The captured woman, named Luggenemenener, was later sent to Campbell Town gaol and separated from her two-year old son, Rolepana, "...whom she had faced death to protect." Batman reported afterwards to British Colonial Secretary, John Burnett, in a letter of 7 September 1829, that he kept the child because he wanted "...to rear it...". Luggenemenener died on 21 March 1837 as an inmate at the Flinders Island settlement.
Later, Rolepana (aged 8 years), child-survivor of a massacre by a 'roving party' led by John Batman, travelled with him as part of the founding party of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in 1835. After Batman's death in 1839, Rolepana would have been 12 years old. Boyce notes that Rolepana was employed by colonist George Ware at 12 Pounds a year with Board on Batman's death, "...but what became of him after this is also unknown." However, Haebich records Rolepana as having died in Melbourne in 1842 (he would have been about 15 years). She also says that:
- Batman openly defied Governor Arthur and [George Augustus] Robinson by refusing to hand over two Aboriginal boys in his employ: Rolepana (or Benny Ben Lomond) and Lurnerminer (John or Jack Allen), captured by Batman in 1828. He claimed the boys were there with the consent of their parents,....He also demonstrated a strong proprietorial interest in the boys, when he told Robinson they were 'as much his property as his farm and that he had as much right to keep them as the government'. Indeed Batman was convinced that the best plan was to leave the children with the colonists, who clothed and fed them at no expense to the government and raised them to become 'useful members of society'. In a series of letters to Governor Arthur, he 'pleaded hard for the retention of youths educated by settlers and devoted to their service'.
In late 1830, as the infamous 'Black Line' (also known as the Black War) was being disbanded elsewhere in Tasmania, George Augustus Robinson
George Augustus Robinson
George Augustus Robinson was a builder and untrained preacher. He was the Chief Protector of Aborigines in Port Phillip District from 1839 to 1849...
spent a week in north-east Tasmania, searching without success, for the "Ben Lomond-Penny Royal Creek people". In December, 1830, with 33 Tasmanian Aborigines having been removed to nearby Swan Island
Swan Island
-Australia:* Little Swan Island, Tasmania, Australia* Swan Island , Australia* Swan Island , Australia-Falkland Islands:* Swan Islands, Falkland Islands* Weddell Island, formerly Swan Island, Falkland Islands-United Kingdom:...
, Robinson sent a party to look for the Ben Lomond people, again unsuccessfully.
After the failure of the 'Black Line' in 1830, Colonial Governor George Arthur
George Arthur
Lieutenant-General Sir George Arthur, 1st Baronet KCH PC was Lieutenant Governor of British Honduras , Van Diemen's Land and Upper Canada . He also served as Governor of Bombay .-Early life:George Arthur was born in Plymouth, England...
announced on 14 March 1831 his new policy of the removal of Aborigines from Tasmania. By then, 34 Tasmanian Aborigines were interned on Swan Island
Swan Island
-Australia:* Little Swan Island, Tasmania, Australia* Swan Island , Australia* Swan Island , Australia-Falkland Islands:* Swan Islands, Falkland Islands* Weddell Island, formerly Swan Island, Falkland Islands-United Kingdom:...
. In August, 1831, Robinson "....gave an unequivocal commitment that if hostilities ceased, Aborigines would be protected and have their essential needs met by the government while being able to live and hunt within their own districts. These concessions, combined with the promised return of their women from the sealers, were the documented terms under which Mannalargenna joined [Robinson's] embassy." But Robinson's commitment was deceitful. As Boyce notes, "Robinson must have been well aware that the agreement he had reached with Mannalargenna contradicted his own undertakings to the Aborigines Committee and the executive council [to Governor George Arthur
George Arthur
Lieutenant-General Sir George Arthur, 1st Baronet KCH PC was Lieutenant Governor of British Honduras , Van Diemen's Land and Upper Canada . He also served as Governor of Bombay .-Early life:George Arthur was born in Plymouth, England...
]." Mannalargenna insisted in his August 1831 negotiations with Robinson on "...a direct meeting..." with Governor George Arthur
George Arthur
Lieutenant-General Sir George Arthur, 1st Baronet KCH PC was Lieutenant Governor of British Honduras , Van Diemen's Land and Upper Canada . He also served as Governor of Bombay .-Early life:George Arthur was born in Plymouth, England...
and in October 1831, he got this in Hobart.
Mannalargenna
Mannalargenna
Mannalargenna , a Tasmanian Aborigine, was the chief of the Ben Lomond tribe . His wife was Tanleboneyer and he had five known children, a son, Neerhepeererminer and daughters Woretermoeteyenner, Wottecowidyer, Wobbelty and Teekoolterme.Following the arrival of the Europeans in the area, he led a...
, an Aboriginal leader who organised guerrilla attacks against British soldiers in Tasmania during the period known as the Black War
Black War
The Black War is a term used to describe a period of conflict between British colonists and Tasmanian Aborigines in the early nineteenth century...
, was a Plangermaireener (one of the 3 bands) elder, and in 1835 became the first Aborigine in Tasmania to be given a "Christian" burial.
Historian Henry Reynolds notes of George Augustus Robinson
George Augustus Robinson
George Augustus Robinson was a builder and untrained preacher. He was the Chief Protector of Aborigines in Port Phillip District from 1839 to 1849...
: "His [Robinson's] guilt and need for self-justification were clearly apparent in a eulogy he delivered on the death of Manalargenna in December 1836. He paid generous tribute to his old companion's intelligence, resourcefulness and affability. Robinson clearly thought him a great man. What is more he understood and sympathised with Manalargenna's political views. The chief was, Robinson explained, 'fully sensible of the injustices done to himself and people in the usurpation of his country by the white intruders'. But now Manalargenna would go to heaven, he told the [Tasmanian Aboriginal] community [interned on Flinders Island], which was much better than returning to his homeland. Mannalargenna died of pneumonia as an inmate on the Flinders Island Aboriginal settlement.
Mannalargenna is also recorded as the leader of the "Oyster Bay Tribe".
Walter George Arthur, son of a Ben Lomond
Ben Lomond
Ben Lomond , , is a distinctive mountain in the Scottish Highlands. Situated on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond, it is the most southerly of the Munros...
elder, was the Wybalenna "activist" who petitioned Queen Victoria in 1846. Historian Henry Reynolds book, Fate of a Free People, covers the activism of Walter George Arthur. Walter George Arthur was born about 1820. His father Rolepa, was a "...leading man of the Ben Lomond
Ben Lomond
Ben Lomond , , is a distinctive mountain in the Scottish Highlands. Situated on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond, it is the most southerly of the Munros...
tribe.." and known to Europeans as 'King George'. Walter was separated from his family in unrecorded circumstances and lived for several years around Launceston, Tasmania
Launceston, Tasmania
Launceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart...
as one of numerous vagrant children. When taken into custody by George Augustus Robinson
George Augustus Robinson
George Augustus Robinson was a builder and untrained preacher. He was the Chief Protector of Aborigines in Port Phillip District from 1839 to 1849...
he was a "professional thief". He was sent to the Boy's Orphan School in Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
in 1832. In 1835, he was sent to Wybalenna settlement on Flinders Island
Flinders Island
Flinders Island may refer to:In Australia:* Flinders Island , in the Furneaux Group, is the largest and best known* Flinders Island * Flinders Island , in the Investigator Group* Flinders Island...
where he remained until 1838. He and his wife Mary-Anne went with Robinson when he was appointed Protector of Aborigines at Port Phillip [Victoria], returning to Flinders Island
Flinders Island
Flinders Island may refer to:In Australia:* Flinders Island , in the Furneaux Group, is the largest and best known* Flinders Island * Flinders Island , in the Investigator Group* Flinders Island...
in 1842. In 1856,while living at the government settlement of Oyster Cove, he applied (but was refused by the Superintendent] for permission to hire a convict pass-holder to work on his farm. In 1858, he and his wife applied for land in the Huon Valley
Huon Valley
The Huon Valley Council is a Local Government Area of Tasmania. It is the southern-most local government area in Australia.It encompasses the town of Huonville, on the Huon River, some surrounding towns, and many protected areas and forestry plantations...
near Hobart under the Waste Land Act. They were told they would have to abstain from alcohol for a year before he would be considered. Soon after May 1861, he drowned in a boating accident on the Derwent River
Derwent River
-Rivers:* Derwent River which flows through Hobart.It may also refer to:* Derwent River which crosses the Birdsville Track at Mungeranie in the Lake Eyre Basin-See also:...
as he and another Tasmanian Aborigine, Jack Allen, were returning to Oyster Cove from work on a whaling ship.
The 19th century artist, John Glover (artist)
John Glover (artist)
John Glover was an English/Australian artist in what is known as the early colonial period of Australian art. In Australia he has been dubbed the father of Australian landscape painting.-Life in Europe:...
, captioned one of his Tasmanian paintings, Batman's Lookout, Benn Lomond (1835) "...on account of Mr Batman frequenting this spot to entrap the Natives." Between 1828 and 1830, Tasmanians in this region were shot or rounded up by bounty hunters like John Batman
John Batman
John Batman was an Australian grazier, businessman and explorer who is best known for his role in the founding of a settlement which became Melbourne and the colony of Victoria.-Life:...
.