Resouces on Truganini

Music

"Truganani" is a song by Australian rock band Midnight Oil, from their album Earth and Sun and Moon. It was inspired by Truganini, the Tasmanian Aboriginal.

The song uses a recurring Australian problem (drought) to pose the question "What for?" meaning 'why did Europeans bother to colonize this harsh place'. The song mentions two prominent indigenous Australians (Truganini and Albert Namatjira) whose lives were altered by European settlement and discusses current day sentiment towards the old country, namely the monarchy.

The single's liner notes included the claim that Truganini was the "sole surviving Tasmanian Aborigine" when she died. This sparked protest by some of the 7,000 people who identify as Tasmanian Aboriginal.

Written Material

Lyndall Ryan, Neil Smith, ' Trugernanner (Truganini) (1812? - 1876)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 6, Melbourne University Press, 1976, p. 305.

N. J. B. Plomley (ed), Friendly Mission. The Tasmanian Journals and Papers of G. A. Robinson 1829-1834 (Hob, 1966); G. A. Robinson papers (State Library of New South Wales); CSO, records, registers and indexes, 1824-76 (Archives Office of Tasmania); correspondence file under Trucanini (Archives Office of Tasmania).