Governor Davey's Proclamation is a

misnomer A misnomer is a name that is incorrectly or unsuitably applied. Misnomers often arise because something was named long before its correct nature was known, or because an earlier form of something has been replaced by a later form to which the nam ...

for an illustrated proclamation issued in

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania during the European exploration of Australia, European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal Tasmanians, Aboriginal-inhabited island wa ...

by the British colonial authorities after 1 November 1828. Although occasionally attributed to Governor Thomas Davey, it was first authorised by Lieutenant Governor

George Arthur Sir George Arthur, 1st Baronet (21 June 1784 – 19 September 1854) was a British colonial administrator who was Lieutenant Governor of British Honduras from 1814 to 1822 and of Van Diemen's Land (present-day Tasmania) from 1824 to 1836. ...

. Several illustrated narrative versions of the proclamation were created over time. Many of these four-strip pictograms were originally painted onto

Huon pine ''Lagarostrobos franklinii'' is a species of conifer native to the wet southwestern corner of Tasmania, Australia. It is often known as the Huon pine or Macquarie pine, although it is actually a podocarp (Podocarpaceae), not a true pine (Pinacea ...

boards using oil paints. Of approximately 100 proclamation boards produced there are seven known to survive in public collections. The

proclamation A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...

was intended to explain martial law during the period in Tasmanian history referred to as the

Black War The Black War was a period of violent conflict between British colonists and Aboriginal Tasmanians in Tasmania from the mid-1820s to 1832 that precipitated the near-extermination of the indigenous population. The conflict was fought largely as ...

Design

The

pictogram A pictogram (also pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto) is a graphical symbol that conveys meaning through its visual resemblance to a physical object. Pictograms are used in systems of writing and visual communication. A pictography is a wri ...

scenes that depict

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. At the time of European contact, Aboriginal Tasmanians were divided into a numb ...

and white settlers were based on drawings by surveyor and artist

George Frankland George Frankland (1800 – 30 December 1838) was an English surveyor and Surveyor-General of Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania). In 1823, Frankland was appointed surveyor-general at Poona, India, where he became acquainted with Edward Dumare ...

, who suggested in a letter to Lieutenant Governor George Arthur that they should be tied to trees in remote areas of the island. The proclamation boards were designed to communicate to the Aboriginal Tasmanians that anyone in Van Diemen's Land would be treated equally under colonial law. Historian Penelope Edmonds notes that the boards "were made after the 1829 declaration of martial law against Tasmania's Aboriginal people, and the hangings from trees actually depict moments of summary justice and retribution on a violent frontier." The proclamation boards were reproduced by convict artists. The drawing was mass-produced by pricking the outline of a drawing with a pin, in a technique known as pouncing or spolvero. Charcoal was then dusted through the pinholes and pounded to make an outline.

Distribution

The editor reported in the Hobart newspaper on 5th March 1830 that "We are informed that the Government have given directions for the painting of a large number of pictures to be placed in the bush for the contemplation of the Aboriginal inhabitants."

Derivative images

A ceramic cup made by Tasmanian potter Violet Mace in 1934 is sometimes described as the 'proclamation cup' as it is hand-painted with a series of images that are derivative of those found on the proclamation boards. The cup is held in the collection of the

National Museum of Australia The National Museum of Australia (NMA), in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''Nation ...

References

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External links

*Oil Painting 'Governor Arthur's Proclamation to the Aborigines,' ca. 1828-1830, State Library of New South Wales
SAFE/R 247
* ttp://nationaltreasures.nla.gov.au/sit/Treasures/item/nla.int-ex6-s52 Governor Arthur's Proclamation, National Treasures, National Library of Australia. Colonial history of Tasmania Indigenous Australians in Tasmania Capital punishment 19th century in Tasmania Van Diemen's Land 1828 documents