Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner were brought to Melbourne by George Augustus Robinson, ‘Protector of Aborigines’ in 1839 and hung after being convicted for the murder of two whale-hunters. The exhibition, which opens today is curated by Paola Balla and includes contemporary artworks, archival information and modern day interpretations of this significant part of Melbourne’s history.
Chair of Arts and Culture Councillor Rohan Leppert said Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner’s stories are central to an understanding of Melbourne’s past, present and future.
“The exhibition and newly commissioned marker focus on a crucial part of Melbourne’s history, but also comment on our city today by allowing us to acknowledge a shared history,” said Cr Leppert.
“The trial of Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner took place at a time when questions about sovereignty, jurisdiction and treaty were being debated. The exhibition uniquely allows many different voices and interpretations to be heard and encourages us to think about our past and our present.”
Paola invited a number of artists to respond to Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner’s story for the exhibition.
“Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner were treated and executed as criminals but they are remembered by many as freedom fighters. By acknowledging the injustice of their executions, we begin to shift the single colonial story to multiple understandings, merging the personal, political and historical,” said Paola.
“I felt it was vital to include Tasmanian Aboriginal artists, who make a significant contribution to art in Victoria; their works speak of Country, memory, trauma, connection and love for their people.
“I commissioned Aunty Marlene Gilson, Wadawurrung Elder to paint the execution scene, to my knowledge one of the first paintings of this traumatic event which has been acquired by the City of Melbourne, also acquired is a painting of Trugannini, who played a significant role within this story,” said Paola.
In July 2012 the City of Melbourne committed to a funding a public marker to honour the story of Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner. Interdisciplinary artist Brook Andrew and Melbourne artist Trent Walter have been selected to create this work, titled Standing by Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner, to be located at the intersection of Victoria and Franklin Streets.
Brook said the work is a monument that is experimental and empowering.
“This work marks the first time an Australian city has created a memorial for frontier wars.
“The experience of Standing by Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner will invite visitors who live in Melbourne to discover how this story informs our knowledge of Aboriginal and contested histories of colonisation,” said Brook.
Trent Walter said it was a great honour and responsibility to work on the commemorative marker to Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner.
“It is a complex and contested history and the City of Melbourne are demonstrating inspired leadership in commissioning this project, the first to acknowledge settler conflict through a public monument in a capital city of Australia,” said Trent.
Work on Standing by Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner will commence in 2016.
About Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner
In 1841, seven years after the colonial occupation of the Port Phillip District began, two Aboriginal men from Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania), were convicted of the murder of two whale-hunters in the Western Port area. On 20 January 1842 they became the first people hanged in Melbourne. There are many events and stories connected to the hanging of these two men, Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner. Firstly, the men’s stories are very important in their own right. So too are the stories of the women who were tried with them, Truganini, Planobeena and Pyterruner. Further, when placed in their full context, the stories of these five Aboriginal people from Tasmania offer vital insights into the very significant past, present and future of Melbourne and Victoria. They are also a window into the complexity of the colonial history of Tasmania. (Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner: The involvement of Aboriginal people from Tasmania in key events of early Melbourne Clare Land 2014)
About the curator - Paola Balla
Paola Balla is a Wemba-Wemba and Gunditjmara woman of Italian and Chinese heritage. She is an artist, curator, speaker, educator and cultural producer – having developed Footscray Community Arts Centre’s first Indigenous Arts and Cultural program, and as a Senior Curator in First Peoples exhibition, Melbourne Museum. Her work is driven by social justice, addressing impacts of colonial trauma (particularly on women and children), and creating spaces of ownership and listening through creative practice. Paola’s visual art is intimate; through familial and individual exploration, she turns her lens upon her immediate world and personal history. By examining the very definitions of what it is to be Aboriginal in an urban setting, Paola’s work challenges us to rethink preconceived attitudes and assumptions.
About the artist - Brook Andrew
Brook Andrew is known for his investigation of dominant Western narratives, specifically relating to colonialism, placing Australia at the centre of a global inquisition. Apart from drawing inspiration from vernacular objects and the archive Andrew travels internationally to work with communities and various private and public collections. Creating interdisciplinary works and immersive installations Andrew presents viewers with alternative choices for interpreting the world, both individually and collectively, by intervening, expanding and re-framing history and our inheritance. These perspectives are driven by his rich involvement with international and local research practice and his cultural inheritance of Wiradjuri, Ngunnawal and Celtic ancestry growing up in Australia's Sydney area.
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