Hobart — Truganini's Lost Secrets

Your quest for Truganini's secrets begins in Franklin Square, at the corner of Macquarie Street, one of Hobart's earliest public parks, established in 1822 as 'Church Green'. This 1.2-hectare park, adorned with English oaks planted from the 1830s, was the scene of convict Thomas Davies' public execution in 1831. It was here that the first voices of the colony were raised, and where, later in 1929, the Cenotaph designed by Hutchison & Partners was unveiled, commemorating Tasmanian soldiers of World War I. The square is a gateway to Hobart's complex history, between the hopes of settlers and the tragedies of the first inhabitants.

Leaving Franklin Square, your path leads to Parliament House, Hobart, a Georgian-style building constructed between 1835 and 1840 from local quarry sandstone. This building, which housed Tasmania's first Parliament from 1856 after the colony gained self-government, is a testament to British power. The Custom House section, built in 1819, represents Tasmania's oldest surviving public building. Its 12-meter-high Doric columns, imported from Sydney in 1838, command respect and recall the colonial authority that shaped the fate of Truganini and her people, a site listed on the Tasmanian Heritage Register.

Continue towards Constitution Dock, a central location in Hobart's port, developed between 1922 and 1923 with concrete piers for the famous Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. This site is of paramount importance, as it was here that the 1804 British naval landing established the Hobart settlement. The dock walls, built in 1922 from 2,500 tonnes of local sandstone, bear the weight of this foundation. The dock's name, derived from the 1855 Constitution Act granting responsible government to Tasmania, symbolizes the political transition of an island marked by the arrival of Europeans and the gradual disappearance of Aboriginal people.

Your exploration then takes you to St David's Cathedral, whose foundation stone was laid in 1868. The nave was only completed in 1936, after 68 years of construction due to funding delays. This site is Hobart's oldest church site, a wooden chapel from 1823 having been replaced by a stone church in 1836. The tower, 55 meters high, houses a peal of 10 bells cast by John Warner & Sons of London in 1930. But it is the Truganini memorial window, installed in 1965, that resonates most with your mission, honoring the last full-blood Tasmanian Aboriginal woman and offering a place for reflection on the fate of her people.

The journey concludes by inviting you to reflect on Truganini's legacy and the history of Tasmania. You have traversed the places that witnessed the birth of a city and the end of a civilization. From Franklin Square to Constitution Dock, passing by Parliament House and St David's Cathedral, each stone tells a part of Hobart and Tasmania's history. This thematic circuit has offered you an interactive tour of Tasmania's heritage, revealing little-known aspects of its history. Hobart's motto, 'Mysterious We Feel, and Honour All Unknown', resonates with the quest for the 'Lost Secrets' you have just uncovered, an immersive exploration of Tasmania's monuments.

As you wander through the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, a green oasis contrasting with urban narratives, you become aware of the island's natural beauty. While this site is not directly linked to the foundational colonial events, it represents a place of refuge and contemplation, where nature continued its work as human history unfolded. It's a place where one can imagine Truganini and her people reconnecting with the land, far from Hobart's sandstone buildings. The garden, with its endemic and introduced species, symbolizes the persistence of life and the biological richness of Tasmania.

Your path along Sandy Bay Road leads you through a residential area, but also an axis of Hobart's development since the 19th century. This road, winding along the coast, was once a thoroughfare for both settlers and Aboriginal people. It offers views of the Derwent River and the surrounding hills, landscapes that have witnessed the island's profound changes. It was on these lands that interactions between different peoples intensified, and where Truganini's destiny unfolded, between exile and resistance, an essential segment of Hobart's history.

The final stop, the Cascades Female Factory Historic Site in South Hobart, confronts you with another dark facet of colonial history. This site, on UNESCO's tentative list as a Convict Site, was a women's prison and forced labor camp. Established in 1828, it housed thousands of condemned women, some of whom fought for their survival and dignity. Although distinct from Aboriginal history, this factory testifies to the brutality of the penal system that accompanied colonization, and offers a striking parallel with the sufferings endured by Truganini's people. This Tasmanian monument is a poignant reminder of lives broken by the Empire.