MOLLISON 1976 The Tasmanian Aborigines Report

THE TASMANIAN ABORIGINES
VOL. J PART 1
TASMANIAN ABORIGI AL GENEALOGIES,
lVITH Ar APPENDIX ON KANGAROO IS.
(To October 1976 )
Compiled by
B. C. Mollison
Address: Psychology Depart ment, Univer s ity of Ta smania
"Wooraddy rel at ed bis st ory of t he creation. Tom said he would not
believe it, he onl y believed t he white man's story. Truganini was

angry with h im, and said '~fu ere do you come f rom? Whit e woman?"
(PI oml ey , 1966)
"I am the family face,
Flesh perishe s, I l ive on;
Projecting trait and trace
Through t ime to times anon,
And l eaping from plac e to pl ace
Over oblivionlf.
"Although che ss is, from t he standp oint of the theory of game s, a
tree, it is a tree with such an unthi nkable number of branches that
t he possibility of surveying it in its entir ety is in practice out

.of the qu e stion".
(Belof f , 1962)
(and this may well be true of genealogie s - B.M. )
"Proud scions 01: First Fleeters sh ould reflect upon t heir status in
relation to Aboriginal genealogy which, on current evidence, must

include some 1500 human generat ions".
(John MUlvaney, 1973)

INTRODUCTION
The following genealogies comprise all known Tasmanian Aboriginal
families, excepting the Briggs family which has been published seperately
(see Vol.), Part II). They have been compiled from a diverse source of
records. The journals of George Augustus Robinson are the basis for much
information on the parent generations. These journals, edited by

N.J.B. Plomley were published in 1966 and are referred to throughout as
Plomley, 1966. Robinson's unpublished journals were also consulted and
where quoted are accompanied by the Mitchell Library Call number.

Tasmanian Aboriginal Genealogical data has been gathered in the
past by N.B. Tindale, A.L. Maston, E.W. Stephens, J.B. Bladon and, more
recently, R.A:-Littlewood. These sources, both published and unpublished,
have been consulted and to a large extent used with caution. Tindale's
records are the most reliable but have been amended where necessary and,
like the other researchers, his data is very much restricted to the Cape
Barren Island population. The following genealogies are an attempt to
update and extend these earlier studies. Much material has been gathered
from Church Records, family documents and interviews and correspondence with
descendants or local historians.
Although the majority of Tasmanian Aboriginal families now live

throughout the state they all have their beginr.ings in the Furneaux Group.
Many people in the south of Tasmania claim Aboriginal descent. These
families have not been traced to origin and therefore not included in this
publication.
The genealogies are listed in alphabetical order; they are coded

for cross reference. Number codes are used for generations and birth
order. Cross references contain the family letter code and the personal
number code.
It will be clearly seen that I have only partial data for many
families. I would greatly appreciate more accurate birth and death data,
full names, correct names and addresses, information of descendants not
included or with incorrect data. These will be included and corrected in
future editions. The genealogies are available only to genuine
descendants and are copyright in whole or part. Enquiries to Bill Mollison,
University of Tasmania, Hobart. 7005.
Abbreviations used:
m married or had children by Rem = Remarried

b born Div Divorced
d deceased, died Sep Seperated

p living at present time N. Y.M. Not yet married
ca approximately (usually for dates) w white
ex came from Nt Native bf
TSA Tasmanian State Archives
ML Mitchell Library
MS Manuscript
CBI Cape Barren Island P.P. Port Phillip

FI Flinders Island S.A. South Australia
KI Kangaroo Island (S.A.) Tas. Tasmania
N.H. New Holland Vic. Victoria
G.A.R. George Augustus Robinson
B.C.M. = Bill Mollison
M.M. Morgan Mansell
J. S.M. John Smith Mansell
E.E. = Ena Everett

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bladon Papers and papers of Edward stephens are deposited in the Royal
Society of Tasmania Archives (University of Tasmania Library), 8/RS/190/D34.
Meston, A.L. (1947) refers to: "The halfcastss of the F'urneaux Group".
"Records of Queen Victoria Museum Launceston, Vol. 2, pp.h7-52.
Tindale, N.B. (1 ) refers to: "Results of the Harvard-Adelaide Universities

anthropological expedition, 1938-1939, Growth of a people: formation
and development of a hybrid aboriginal and white stock on the islands
of Bass strait Tasmania, 1 949". Records of Queen Victoria Museum
Launceston, N.S.2, 64 np. (Tindale's field notes from 1938-1939
expedition are supposed to be held by the S.A. Museum. However, they
were not located there in 1975. At this stage this is the only major
source of genealogical data which needs to be consulted for this study).
Littlewood, R.A. MS of field notes and research notes for Ph.D. Thesis on
Bass Strait Hybrids. (Held by South Australian Museum, Adelaide).
Plomley, N.J.B. (ed.). Plomley (1966) refers to: Friendly Mission: The
Tasmanian Journals and Pa ers of Geor e Au ustus Robinson 1829-183h.
Tasmanian Historical Research Association, Hobart 19
Plomley, N.J.B.-(ed.). Plomley (1971) Supplement - A Supplement to above,

published in Pa ers and Proceedin s of Tasmanian Historical Research
Association, Vol.1 , No.1, June 1971 white issue.
Nixon, F.R. (1857). The Cruise of the Beacon (London).
Brownrigg, M.B. (1872). The Cruise of the Freak (Launceston).
These are accounts of "Missionary Visits" to Bass Strait. Some accounts of

other visits are published in the Launceston Examiner and Church News
1871-1899.

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THE TASMANIAN ABORIGINES

TASMANIAN ABORIGI AL GENEALOGIES,

lVITH Ar APPENDIX ON KANGAROO IS.

(To October 1976 )

believe it, he onl y believed t he white man's story. Truganini was

(PI oml ey , 1966)

"I am the family face,

Flesh perishe s, I l ive on;

Projecting trait and trace

Through t ime to times anon,

And l eaping from plac e to pl ace

"Although che ss is, from t he standp oint of the theory of game s, a

tree, it is a tree with such an unthi nkable number of branches that

t he possibility of surveying it in its entir ety is in practice out

relation to Aboriginal genealogy which, on current evidence, must

(John MUlvaney, 1973)

The following genealogies comprise all known Tasmanian Aboriginal

information on the parent generations. These journals, edited by

Plomley, 1966. Robinson's unpublished journals were also consulted and

where quoted are accompanied by the Mitchell Library Call number.

recently, R.A:-Littlewood. These sources, both published and unpublished,

Barren Island population. The following genealogies are an attempt to

descendants or local historians.

Although the majority of Tasmanian Aboriginal families now live

Many people in the south of Tasmania claim Aboriginal descent. These

The genealogies are listed in alphabetical order; they are coded

full names, correct names and addresses, information of descendants not

included or with incorrect data. These will be included and corrected in

future editions. The genealogies are available only to genuine

descendants and are copyright in whole or part. Enquiries to Bill Mollison,

University of Tasmania, Hobart. 7005.

m married or had children by Rem = Remarried

d deceased, died Sep Seperated

ex came from Nt Native bf

TSA Tasmanian State Archives

CBI Cape Barren Island P.P. Port Phillip

G.A.R. George Augustus Robinson

B.C.M. = Bill Mollison

M.M. Morgan Mansell

J. S.M. John Smith Mansell

E.E. = Ena Everett

Tindale, N.B. (1 ) refers to: "Results of the Harvard-Adelaide Universities

Plomley, N.J.B.-(ed.). Plomley (1971) Supplement - A Supplement to above,

Nixon, F.R. (1857). The Cruise of the Beacon (London).

Brownrigg, M.B. (1872). The Cruise of the Freak (Launceston).

These are accounts of "Missionary Visits" to Bass Strait. Some accounts of

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