Mathinna (Tasmanian)
Encyclopedia
Mathinna was an indigenous Australian girl, who was adopted and later abandoned by the Governor of Tasmania, Sir John Franklin
.
Mathinna was born as Mary on Flinders Island
, Tasmania
to the Chief of the Lowreenne tribe, Towgerer, and his wife Wongerneep but the tribe was captured by Robinson
, the Chief Protector of Aborigines, in 1833. Mary was renamed Mathinna when adopted by Governor Sir John Franklin, an Arctic explorer, and his wife, Lady Jane Franklin, and was raised with Sir John's daughter Eleanor.
When Sir and Lady Franklin returned to England
, they left Mathinna at Queen’s Orphan School in Hobart in 1843. Only eight years old, she found it difficult to adjust to her new surroundings. She was sent back to Flinders Island in 1844, at the age of nine, and then sent back to Queen's Orphan School.
Mathinna thereafter had problems with alcohol, which was common in indigenous people of the time. She had become unpopular with the aboriginals because of her liking for the white-skinned culture, and her desperate need for more wealth. As her drinking continued, she drowned -- according to one account -- in a puddle while drunk in 1856 as she left a white settler's cottage. She was only 21 years old.
The town of Mathinna
is named after her.
John Franklin
Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin KCH FRGS RN was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. Franklin also served as governor of Tasmania for several years. In his last expedition, he disappeared while attempting to chart and navigate a section of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic...
.
Mathinna was born as Mary 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...
, 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...
to the Chief of the Lowreenne tribe, Towgerer, and his wife Wongerneep but the tribe was captured by 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...
, the Chief Protector of Aborigines, in 1833. Mary was renamed Mathinna when adopted by Governor Sir John Franklin, an Arctic explorer, and his wife, Lady Jane Franklin, and was raised with Sir John's daughter Eleanor.
When Sir and Lady Franklin returned to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, they left Mathinna at Queen’s Orphan School in Hobart in 1843. Only eight years old, she found it difficult to adjust to her new surroundings. She was sent back to Flinders Island in 1844, at the age of nine, and then sent back to Queen's Orphan School.
Mathinna thereafter had problems with alcohol, which was common in indigenous people of the time. She had become unpopular with the aboriginals because of her liking for the white-skinned culture, and her desperate need for more wealth. As her drinking continued, she drowned -- according to one account -- in a puddle while drunk in 1856 as she left a white settler's cottage. She was only 21 years old.
The town of Mathinna
Mathinna, Tasmania
Mathinna is a small Australian town located in the north-east of Tasmania, 63 km east of Launceston. It was named after a young Aboriginal girl befriended by the Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land, Sir John Franklin and his wife, Lady Jane Franklin....
is named after her.
Cultural depictions of Mathinna
Mathinna's life has inspired or been mentioned in several literary and dramatic works. These include:- 1967: Children's historical fiction book titled Mathinna's People by Nan ChauncyNan ChauncyNan Chauncy was a British-born Australian author of children's books.-Early life:Chauncy was born Nancen Beryl Masterman in Northwood, Middlesex, England and emigrated to Tasmania, Australia with her family in 1912, when her engineer father was offered a job with the Hobart City Council. She...
. - 2008: Ballet titled Mathinna choreographed by Stephen PageStephen PageBorn in Brisbane in 1965, Stephen Page is a descendant from the Nunukul people and the Munaldjali clan of the Yugambeh tribe from southeast Queensland...
for the Bangarra Dance TheatreBangarra Dance TheatreBangarra Dance Theatre is an Indigenous Australian contemporary dance company founded in 1989 by Carole Johnson, an African-American and founding director of National Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Association . Bangarra is the Wiradjuri word meaning "to make fire".Stephen Page has been the...
. - 2008: Novel titled Wanting by Richard FlanaganRichard FlanaganRichard Flanagan is a novelist from Tasmania, Australia.-Early life:Flanagan was born in Longford, Tasmania, in 1961, the fifth of six children. He is descended from Irish convicts transported to Van Diemen's Land in the 1840s. His father is a survivor of the Burma Death Railway. One of his three...
External links
- http://arts.abc.net.au/metro/bev/life1.htm Mathinna
- http://artyzm.com/obrazy/bock_mathinna.jpg