George Augustus Robinson (22 March 1791 – 18 October 1866) was a British-born colonial official and self-trained preacher in

colonial Australia The history of Australia is the story of the land and peoples of the continent of Australia. Aboriginal Australians, People first arrived on the Australian mainland by sea from Maritime Southeast Asia between 50,000 and 65,000 years ago, and ...

. In 1824, Robinson travelled to

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

Van Diemen’s Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sepa ...

, where he attempted to negotiate a peace between European settlers and

Aboriginal Tasmanians 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 ...

prior to the outbreak of 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 ...

. He was appointed

Chief Protector of Aborigines The role of Protector of Aborigines was first established in South Australia in 1836. The role became established in other parts of Australia pursuant to a recommendation contained in the ''Report of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Abori ...

by the

Aboriginal Protection Board Aboriginal Protection Board, also known as Aborigines Protection Board, Board for the Protection of Aborigines, Aborigines Welfare Board (and in later sources, incorrectly as Aboriginal Welfare Board), and similar names, refers to a number of hi ...

Port Phillip District The Port Phillip District was an administrative division of the Colony of New South Wales from 9 September 1836 until 1 July 1851, when it was separated from New South Wales and became the Colony of Victoria. In September 1836, NSW Colonial Sec ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in 1839, a position he held until 1849.

Early life

Robinson was born on 22 March 1791, probably in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England, to William Robinson, a

construction worker A construction worker is a worker employed in the physical construction of the built environment and its infrastructure. Definition By some definitions, workers may be engaged in manual labour as unskilled or semi-skilled workers; they may be sk ...

, and Susannah Robinson (''née'' Perry). He followed his father into the building trade, married Maria Amelia Evans on 28 February 1814, and had five children over the next ten years. He was connected with the engineering department at the

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century, ...

and had some involvement with the construction of

martello towers Martello towers, sometimes known simply as Martellos, are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts. They stand up ...

along England's coast, possibly as a superintendent.

Van Diemen's Land

Robinson arrived in

in January 1824, having apparently nearly been a victim of

Gregor MacGregor General Gregor MacGregor (24 December 1786 – 4 December 1845) was a Scottish soldier, adventurer, and confidence trickster who attempted from 1821 to 1837 to draw British and French investors and settlers to "Poyais", a fictional Central Am ...

's fraudulent Poyais scheme. He established himself as a builder and was soon employing several men. He was secretary of the

Bethel Union The Bethel Union, full name British and Foreign Seamen's Friend Society and Bethel Union, was a religious organisation for seafarers founded in 1819 by George Charles Smith ("Boatswain Smith"). Background The main seaports in England in the early ...

and was a committee member of the Auxiliary Bible Society, also helping to found the Van Diemen's Land Mechanics' Institution. He was joined by his wife and children in April 1826.

Aboriginal Tasmanians

Conflicts between settlers and

had vastly increased during the 1820s, which became known as the

. In 1830 Robinson investigated the Cape Grim massacre that had occurred in 1828 and reported that 30 Aborigines had been massacred. Robinson was to be brought in as a "conciliator" between settlers and Aboriginal people. His mission was to round up the Aboriginal people to resettle them at the camp of Wybalenna 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 colo ...

. Robinson befriended

Truganini Truganini (also known as Lallah Rookh; c. 1812 – 8 May 1876) was an Aboriginal Tasmanian woman. She was one of the last native speakers of the Tasmanian languages and one of the last individuals solely of Aboriginal Tasmanian descent. Trug ...

, to whom he promised food, housing and security on Flinders Island until the situation on the mainland had calmed down. With Truganini, Robinson succeeded in forging an agreement with the Big River and Oyster Bay peoples, and by the end of 1835, nearly all the Aboriginal people had been relocated to the new settlement. Robinson's involvement with the Aboriginal Tasmanians ended soon after this, though, and the Wybalenna settlement became more akin to a prison as the camp conditions deteriorated and many of the residents died of ill health and homesickness. Because of this, Robinson's place in history is generally viewed as negative, especially within the current Aboriginal community. Some historians agree that his initial intentions were genuine, but his abandonment of the community is viewed as a turning point for the worse for the Tasmanian Aboriginals. Moreover, his promises of providing a place where Aboriginal people could practise their cultural traditions and ceremonies never came to fruition.

Chief Protector of Aborigines in Port Phillip District

Robinson became

in March 1839, managing the Protectorate of Port Phillip with the help of four Assistant Protectors, William Thomas, James Dredge,

Edward Stone Parker Edward Stone Parker (1802–1865) was a Methodist preacher and assistant Protector of Aborigines in the Aboriginal Protectorate established in the Port Phillip District of colonial New South Wales under George Augustus Robinson in 1838. He est ...

and

Charles Sievwright Charles Wightman Sievwright (31 March 1800 – 10 September 1855) was a British army officer before being appointed Assistant Protector of Aborigines in part of the Port Phillip District of the colony of New South Wales, now Victoria, Australia. ...

. Maria, Robinson's wife died in 1848. During his decade of service as Chief Protector he made more than 20 expeditions into the four districts of the Aboriginal Protectorate. Robinson was paid a total of £8000 in his role as protector of Aborigines. He built a small community that included a church and coined the area 'Point Civilisation'. Many of the Aborigines who lived at the port had been removed under false pretenses from their true home in Tasmania. In 1841 and 1842, Robinson traveled to western Victoria with

Tunnerminnerwait Tunnerminnerwait (c.1812–1842) was an Australian Aboriginal resistance fighter and Parperloihener clansman from Tasmania. He was also known by several other names including Peevay, Jack of Cape Grim, Tunninerpareway and renamed Jack Napoleon Ta ...

where he investigated and reported on the

Convincing Ground massacre The Convincing Ground Massacre was a massacre of the Indigenous Gunditjmara people Kilcarer gundidj clan by British settler whalers based at Portland Bay in South-Eastern Australia. It was part of the wider Eumeralla Wars between the British col ...

that had occurred in 1833 or 1834.Ian D. Clark, pp17-22, ''Scars on the Landscape. A Register of Massacre sites in Western Victoria 1803-1859'', Aboriginal Studies Press, 1995 Excerpt also published o
Museum Victoria website
, accessed 26 November 2008 In 1841 he investigated a gunshot incident, and whilst travelling came across the aboriginal aquaculture site of

Lake Condah Lake Condah, also known by its Gunditjmara name Tae Rak, is in the Australian state of Victoria, about west of Melbourne and north-east of Heywood by road. It is in the form of a shallow basin, about in length and wide. The lake is locate ...

, recording its dimensions. His journals are regarded as amongst the most important documents on the early years of European settlement in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. They offer significant observations on Koorie culture, early

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

personalities, the landscape and settler society.

Later life

The Port Phillip Protectorate was abolished on 31 December 1849, with Robinson receiving a pension. He returned to England in 1852 and the following year married Rose Pyne, with whom he had another five children. The couple spent five years living in Europe, mostly in Paris and Rome. In 1859 they settled in

Bath, England Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

, where Robinson died on 18 October 1866 at the age of 75.

Robinson in contemporary culture

Semi-fictional accounts of Robinson's travels are included in

Matthew Kneale Matthew Kneale (born 24 November 1960) is a British writer. He is best known for his 2000 novel '' English Passengers''. Life Kneale was born on 24 November 1960 in London, the son of screenwriter Nigel Kneale, and the children's writer Judith ...

's book ''

English Passengers ''English Passengers'' () is a 2000 historical novel written by Matthew Kneale, which won that year's Whitbread Book Award and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the Miles Franklin Award. It is narrated by 20 different characters and ...

'' and in

T. C. Boyle Thomas Coraghessan Boyle, also known as T. C. Boyle and T. Coraghessan Boyle (born December 2, 1948), is an American novelist and short story writer. Since the mid-1970s, he has published sixteen novels and more than 100 short stories. He won the ...

's short story "The Extinction Tales", and Robinson is a major character in Richard Flanagan's 2008 novel ''Wanting''. There is a reference to Robinson in the book ''The Lost Diamonds of Killiecrankie'' by Gary Crew and

Peter Gouldthorpe Peter James Gouldthorpe (born 30 July 1954) is an Australian artist and author best known for his children's books. He lives and works in Hobart, Tasmania with his wife, Jennie, and has two children. Early life Gouldthorpe was born in Melbo ...

, and in ''

Following the Equator ''Following the Equator'' (sometimes titled ''More Tramps Abroad'') is a non-fiction social commentary in the form of a travelogue published by Mark Twain in 1897. Twain was practically bankrupt in 1894 due to investing heavily into the failed ...

'', by

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

Robert Drewe Robert Duncan Drewe (born 9 January 1943) is an Australian novelist, non-fiction and short story writer. Biography Robert Drewe was born on 9 January 1943 in Melbourne, Victoria. At the age of six, he moved with his family to Perth. He grew ...

s' 'Savage Crows' also incorporates the work of Robinson into the plot. See also

Mudrooroo Colin Thomas Johnson (21 August 1938 – 20 January 2019), better known by his nom de plume Mudrooroo, was a novelist, poet, essayist and playwright. He has been described as one of the most enigmatic literary figures of Australia and his man ...

's critical portrayal of Robinson in ''

Doctor Wooreddy's Prescription for Enduring the Ending of the World ''Doctor Wooreddy's Prescription for Enduring the Ending of the World'' is an historical novel by Mudrooroo Nyoongah, first published in 1983. A tragedy, the work explores the reaction of Aboriginal Tasmanians to European colonisation during th ...

'', ''Master of the Ghost Dreaming'' and his Vampire Trilogy: ''The Undying'', ''Underground'' and ''The Promised Land''. Additionally, Cassandra Pybus' 2020 biography of

, entitled ''Truganini: Journey Through the Apocalypse'' provides a detailed account of Robinson's personal relationship with

and the traumatic psychological and cultural shifts experienced by

. Tasmanian artist Julie Gough referenced Robinson and his work in her recent exhibition ''Tense Past'' at Tasmania Museum & Art Gallery.

Robinson and museum collections

During Robinson's time in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

and Victoria, he collected a large number of objects and artworks from the Aboriginal communities there. After his death, his widow Rose sold the items to many museums.

The British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It documen ...

has 138 items relating to Robinson's time in Australia, including Aboriginal artefacts, prints and drawings.

Joseph Barnard Davis Joseph Barnard Davis (1801 – 19 May 1881) was an English medical doctor now remembered as a collector and craniologist. Life In the summer of 1820, while still a student, he went as a surgeon in a whaling ship to the Arctic seas. Obtaining th ...

acquired many from Robinson's widow in the 1860s, and it may be through his activities that objects subsequently found their way into other collections, for example at the British Museum. Leeds Discovery Centre has two spears he collected. The

Pitt Rivers Museum Pitt Rivers Museum is a museum displaying the archaeological and anthropological collections of the University of Oxford in England. The museum is located to the east of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, and can only be accessed t ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

holds nineteen objects relating to Robinson's time abroad. The collection at Pitt Rivers includes several paintings and prints describing individual people from Aboriginal communities, including: Truggernana, Jenny, and Fanny, amongst others.

Notes

References

* * Vivienne Rae-Ellis, ''Black Robinson Protector of Aborigines'', Melbourne University Press, 1988 *

Lyndall Ryan Lyndall Ryan, (born 1943) is an Australian academic and historian. She has held positions in Australian Studies and Women's Studies at Griffith University and Flinders University and was Foundation Professor of Australian Studies and Head of Sc ...

, ''Tasmanian Aborigines: a history since 1803'', Allen & Unwin, 2012 (esp. pp. 151–239)

External links

George Augustus Robinson - State Library of NSW

George Augustus Robinson - State Records of NSW

the journals and papers of George Augustus Robinson (1791-1866) - NSW State Library Protector of Aborigines Heritage Collection

Melbourne University Press * Calder, James E.(1875). '' Some Account of the Wars, Extirpation, Habits, &c., of the Native Tribes of Tasmania'' esp. p
20
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, George Augustus 1791 births 1866 deaths Australian builders Australian Christian religious leaders English emigrants to colonial Australia Settlers of Tasmania Settlers of Melbourne Indigenous Australians in Tasmania 19th-century Australian public servants Australian diarists 19th-century diarists