The ''Flinders Island Chronicle'' was an Australian newspaper founded in September 1836 and running until December 1837. It was jointly written and edited by Thomas Brune and Walter George Arthur. Twenty nine editions are currently known of. It is notable as being the first newspaper produced by

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

.Gale, p. 41. The ''Flinders Island Chronicle'' was produced at the Aboriginal settlement on

Flinders Island Flinders Island, the largest island in the Furneaux Group, is a island in the Bass Strait, northeast of the island of Tasmania. Flinders Island was the place where the last remnants of aboriginal Tasmanian population were exiled by the colon ...

, where many

Tasmanian Aborigine The Aboriginal Tasmanians (Palawa kani: ''Palawa'' or ''Pakana'') are the Aboriginal people of the Australian island of Tasmania, located south of the mainland. For much of the 20th century, the Tasmanian Aboriginal people were widely, and ...

s were exiled in the early 1830s, following the

Black War } The Black War was a period of violent conflict between British Empire, British colonists and Aboriginal Tasmanians in Tasmania from the mid-1820s to 1832. The conflict, fought largely as a guerrilla war by both sides, claimed the lives of 600 ...

. Thomas Brune, aged about fourteen, and Walter George Arthur, aged about seventeen, were the most literate amongst the children who had been educated at the Hobart Orphan school. They were selected by

George Augustus Robinson George Augustus Robinson (22 March 1791 – 18 October 1866) was a British-born colonial official and self-trained preacher in colonial Australia. In 1824, Robinson travelled to Hobart, Van Diemen’s Land, where he attempted to negotiate ...

as writers and in September 1836 wrote a Prospectus and First Edition.

''we date our history of Events from the Month of October 1835'' ''when our beloved father made his appearance among us...'' ''we had been in a deplorable state.'' ''we looked for a better day. and it has arrived'' ''what a contrast between the present and the past''

There was a break for almost twelve months until publication was resumed, and from late September to late December 1837, twenty seven editions were produced. Although written under Robinson's tight editorial control, Brune and Arthur depicted scenes of beauty:

''"and the Native men was playing and singing about God and Jesus Christ'' ''and they were asinging bout there own country song'' ''and some of the Native people was shooting swans and Duck and Pelilcans.'' ''And Native men was singing Godly song"''

and abuse:

''"hear this I got rittes to you the same things over and over again'' ''Commandant has directed me to work'' ''and if I dont attend to it I must be put in to joal"'', additional text.

The ''Flinders Island Chronicle'' was dominated by messages of Christian indoctrination. It also documented a community which was lively, rebellious, and sometimes under great stress. In early December 1837, Walter George Arthur rebelled against Robinson, and was removed from editing duties. By late December 1837, the Aboriginal inhabitants of Flinders Island began openly defying Robinson. The final issue of the ''Flinders Island Chronicle'' was produced on 21 December 1837. Thomas Brune and Walter George Arthur remained close to Robinson, despite the demise of the ''Chronicle''. In 1839, they accompanied Robinson when he became Chief Protector of Aborigines at the

Port Phillip Protectorate The Port Phillip Protectorate was created in the Port Phillip District by the British House of Commons at the instigation of Lord Glenelg. The primary directives of the Protectors was to protect the Aboriginal people in their districts and to 'civi ...

. Thomas Brune reportedly died in Melbourne in January 1841 after a fall from a tree. Walter George Arthur lived in Melbourne for three years, including working as a drover on a run from Melbourne to Adelaide. In 1842, he returned to Flinders Island and assumed a leadership position in the community. In 1846, he was a signatory and lead organiser of a Petition to Queen Victoria, against an abusive superintendent. Henry Reynolds called Arthur a "pioneer Aboriginal activist".H. Reynolds, ‘Walter George Arthur: Pioneer Aboriginal activist’, Island, 49, Summer 1991, p.36

References

Sources

* Gale, M-A. (1997) ''Dhanum Djorra'wuy Dhäwu'', Aboriginal Research Institute: Adelaide. {{ISBN, 0 86803 182 8. Defunct newspapers published in Tasmania Indigenous Australian mass media Publications established in 1836 Publications disestablished in 1837 Weekly newspapers published in Australia Flinders Island