Tasmanian Aboriginal people | History & Facts

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class="topic-left-rail md-article-drawer position-relative d-flex border-right-sm border-left-sm open"> <div class="drawer d-flex flex-column open"> <div class="left-rail-section-content"> <div class="topic-left-rail-header text-truncate bg-gray-50 position-relative text-right d-flex align-items-center"> <div class="tlr-title px-20 py-15 text-left"> <em class="material-icons text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tasmanian-Aboriginal-people">Tasmanian Aboriginal people</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <span class="toc-extra-link selected link-gray-900 mt-15"> Introduction </span> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tasmanian-Aboriginal-people/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/Tasmanian-Aboriginal-people">Quick Facts & Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="mb-30 tlr-discover"> <div class="text-gray-900 p-5 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-10 mb-10"> Discover </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/list/9-of-the-worlds-deadliest-spiders"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/70/62770-131-C97CD1F7/Black-widow-spider.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="Black widow spider" width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/list/9-of-the-worlds-deadliest-spiders" >9 of the World’s Deadliest Spiders</a> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/story/were-the-nazis-socialists"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/39/71439-131-F9B51B49/banner-Nazis-Tod-dem-Marxismus.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="pg 229Nazi parade features a banner proclaiming, "Death to Marxism."The possibility of a peaceful Germany after World War I was precluded entirely by the terms of the Versailles Treaty and theintransigent hostility of France and England. Stripped of indu" width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/story/were-the-nazis-socialists" >Were the Nazis Socialists?</a> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/story/holi-festival-of-colors"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/57/244757-131-EBAFDFE0/Hindu-Holi-Festival-Mathura-Uttar-Pradesh-India.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="Hindu Holi Festival celebrations with colored water, powder and colorful flower petals thrown over celebrants at a Hindu temple in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India on March 24, 2021." width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/story/holi-festival-of-colors" >Holi: Festival of Colors</a> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/story/7-important-dates-in-jupiter-history"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/90/186790-131-AEA5CAE9/Planet-Jupiter-moon-left-orbiter-Io-mission-2000.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="Planet Jupiter with its moon Io at left, photographed by the Cassini orbiter during the Cassini-Huygens mission, 2000. spacecraft" width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/story/7-important-dates-in-jupiter-history" >7 Important Dates in Jupiter History</a> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/story/cruel-and-unusual-punishments-15-types-of-torture"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/55/164555-131-D8A6E6C8/rat-glass-table.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="Small, white rat (genus Rattus) on a glass table. (rodent, laboratory, experiment)" width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/story/cruel-and-unusual-punishments-15-types-of-torture" >Cruel and Unusual Punishments: 15 Types of Torture</a> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/story/which-waters-do-you-pass-through-when-you-sail-the-seven-seas"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/97/196697-131-0155C802/Sailboat-landscape.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="Sailboat against a beautiful landscape" width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/story/which-waters-do-you-pass-through-when-you-sail-the-seven-seas" >Which Waters Do You Pass Through When You “Sail the Seven Seas”?</a> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/list/americas-5-most-notorious-cold-cases-including-one-you-may-have-thought-was-already-solved"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/71/196471-131-8FEA8DDD/Daily-Police-Bulletin-Elizabeth-Short-Black-Dahlia-January-1947.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="Los Angeles Police Department wanted flyer on Elizabeth Short, aka the "Black Dahlia," who was brutally murdered in January 1947. The FBI supported the Los Angeles Police Department in the case, including by identifying Short through her fingerprints that" width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/list/americas-5-most-notorious-cold-cases-including-one-you-may-have-thought-was-already-solved" >America’s 5 Most Notorious Cold Cases (Including One You May Have Thought Was Already Solved)</a> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <button class="drawerToggle btn position-sticky border btn-xs btn-white btn-circle rounded-sm d-none d-lg-flex " type="button" aria-label="Toggle Drawer"> <em class="material-icons font-18 text-blue" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></em> </button> </div> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="h-100 ml-0 pr-lg-0 "> <div class="h-100 grid gx-0 gx-lg-20"> <div class="h-100 col-sm"> <div class="h-100 infinite-pagination-container d-flex flex-column position-relative"> <div class="position-absolute top-0 h-100 w-100"> <div class="toc-sticky-header d-none d-lg-none bg-gray-50 px-10 px-sm-30 position-sticky w-100 "> <div class="toc-sticky-header-inner-container align-items-center d-flex mx-auto h-100 w-100"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-sm btn-white text-blue border-2 border-gray-100 gtm-mobile-toc-header-button js-sections-button d-lg-none p-10"> <em class="material-icons my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Contents </button> <div class="header-ai-simplify-button-placeholder"></div> <div class="header-ai-ask-button-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="grey-box w-100 grey-box-top grey-box-bottom"> <div class="grey-box-content mx-auto w-100"> <script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement" : [ { "@type" : "ListItem", "position" : 1, "item" : { "@id" : "https://www.britannica.com/browse/Geography-Travel", "name": "Geography & Travel" } } , { "@type" : "ListItem", "position" : 2, "item" : { "@id" : "https://www.britannica.com/browse/Human-Geography", "name": "Human Geography" } } , { "@type" : "ListItem", "position" : 3, "item" : { "@id" : "https://www.britannica.com/browse/Peoples-of-Australia-and-Oceania", "name": "Peoples of Australia & Oceania" } } ] } </script> <nav class="breadcrumb mt-20"> <span class="breadcrumb-item "> <a class="link-gray-600" href="/browse/Geography-Travel">Geography & Travel</a> </span> <span class="breadcrumb-item "> <a class="link-gray-600" href="/browse/Human-Geography">Human Geography</a> </span> <span class="breadcrumb-item "> <a class="link-gray-600" href="/browse/Peoples-of-Australia-and-Oceania">Peoples of Australia & Oceania</a> </span> </nav> <div class="page2ref-true topic-content topic-type-REGULAR" data-student-article="false"> <script class="page-description-json" type="application/json"> { "url": "/topic/Tasmanian-Aboriginal-people", "shareUrl": "https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tasmanian-Aboriginal-people", "browserTitle": "Tasmanian Aboriginal people | History & Facts", "firstTopicPage": true, "topicId":583936 } </script> <div class="reading-channel"> <div class="topic-header"> <div class="d-flex align-items-top justify-content-between"> <div class="d-flex flex-column"> <div> <div> <h1>Tasmanian Aboriginal people</h1></div> </div> <div class="topic-identifier font-16 font-md-20">people</div> </div> </div> <div class="d-none d-sm-flex flex-row"> <div class="mr-10 mb-15"> <button class="ai-ask-button btn btn-sm border-2 btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 btn-sm btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 px-sm-5 px-md-10 js-inline-ai-ask-button"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="d-block md-topic-tools qa-action-buttons mb-15" data-topic-id="583936"> <button class="js-tooltip btn btn-sm btn-outline-blue border pr-10 border-2 text-nowrap" > <em class="material-icons md-icon ml-n10 my-n5 mr-5" data-icon="more_vert"></em> More Actions </button> <div class="md-more-popover popover popover-sm p-0 font-14 z-1"> <div> <a class="js-modal btn btn-sm btn-link gtm-topic-tool font-weight-bold btn-link" href="/print/article/583936" target="_blank" > <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="print"></em> Print </a> </div> <div> <button class="js-modal qa-cite-modal-button btn btn-sm btn-link gtm-topic-tool font-weight-bold btn-link" data-modal="[data-topic-id=583936] .md-cite-modal"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="verified"></em> Cite </button> <div class="md-cite-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif d-flex align-items-center pb-15 border-bottom mb-15"> <em class="material-icons text-blue mr-10">verified</em>Cite </div> <div class="font-serif"> While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. 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Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). </div> <div class="type-menu"> <label for="feedback-type" class="label mb-10">Feedback Type</label> <select id="feedback-type" class="form-select mb-30" name="feedbackTypeId" required> <option value="" selected="selected">Select a type (Required)</option> <option value="1">Factual Correction</option> <option value="2">Spelling/Grammar Correction</option> <option value="3">Link Correction</option> <option value="4">Additional Information</option> <option value="5">Other</option> </select> </div> <label for="feedback" class="label mb-10">Your Feedback</label> <textarea id="feedback" class="form-control mb-30" name="feedback" maxlength="3000" rows="7" required></textarea> <button class="btn btn-blue" type="submit">Submit Feedback</button> </form> <div class="success-messaging d-none mt-30"> <div class="title">Thank you for your feedback</div> <p>Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="md-websites-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif pb-15 border-bottom font-weight-bold"> External Websites </div> <div class="pb-20"> <ul class="list-unstyled mt-20 lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20211024-the-rebirth-of-tasmanian-indigenous-culture" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">BBC - The rebirth of Tasmanian indigenous culture</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.academia.edu/2474043/Extermination_Extinction_Genocide_British_Colonialism_and_Tasmanian_Aborigines" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Academia - Extermination, Extinction, Genocide: British Colonialism and Tasmanian Aborigines</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://archive.org/details/aboriginestasma00tylogoog" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Internet Archive - "The Aborigines of Tasmania"</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/m_r/rose/tasmania.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Modern American Poetry - Black War: The Destruction of the Tasmanian Aborigines</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="toc-header-marker"></div> <button class="ai-ask-button btn btn-sm border-2 btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 d-none mr-0 mr-lg-10 ml-5 ml-sm-10 ml-lg-0 p-10 px-sm-5 px-md-10 js-header-ai-ask-button"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> <div class="caption alternate-titles">Also known as: Palawa</div> <div class="md-byline module-spacing "> <div class="font-serif font-12"> <span class="written-by text-gray-700"> Written and fact-checked by </span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2025-02-26T00:00:00CST" >Feb 26, 2025</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tasmanian-Aboriginal-people/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn btn-sm border-2 btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 module-spacing js-inline-ai-ask-button p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Self-name: </dt> <dd>Palawa</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related Topics: </dt> <dd><a href="/topic/Australian-Aboriginal" topicid="43876">Australian Aboriginal peoples</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Oceanic-people" topicid="424526">Pacific Islander</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/Tasmanian-Aboriginal-people"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><div class="bg-gray-50 p-15 rounded module-spacing recent-news d-flex flex-column float-false"> <div> <h2 class="font-weight-bold font-14 m-0 d-inline"> News <span class="text-gray-600">•</span> </h2> <div class="recent-news-item first-recent-news-item d-inline"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-25/tas-macquarie-point-stadium-support-by-chris-rowbottom/104979126" rel="nofollow">Poll reveals Hobart's Macquarie Point stadium unpopular in Liberal Party heartland</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Feb. 25, 2025, 6:11 AM ET (ABC News (Australia)) <button class="btn btn-link d-inline p-0 font-12 js-toggle-recent-news"> <span class="text-gray-500">...</span><span>(Show more)</span> </button> </span> </div> </div> <div class="rest-of-recent-news-items"> <div class="recent-news-item mt-5"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/hobart-mornings/date-set-container-deposit-scheme-tasmania-/104926256" rel="nofollow">Date set for Tasmania's long-awaited container refund scheme - ABC listen</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Feb. 12, 2025, 5:55 AM ET (ABC News (Australia)) </span> </div> <div class="recent-news-item mt-5"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-12/tasmanian-palawa-kani-place-names-change/104913992" rel="nofollow">Tasmanian Aboriginal place names for major landmarks to change as part of 'evolution' of reconstructed palawa kani</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Feb. 12, 2025, 1:27 AM ET (ABC News (Australia)) </span> </div> <div class="recent-news-item mt-5"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-10/abortion-peer-workers-providing-safe-space-in-tasmania/104719560" rel="nofollow">Post-abortion peer support provides a safe space for Tasmanians</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Feb. 9, 2025, 6:08 AM ET (ABC News (Australia)) </span> </div> <button class="js-toggle-recent-news d-flex btn btn-unstyled font-14 pr-10 rounded-sm mt-10" aria-label="Toggle additional news items"> Show less <em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_less"></em> </button> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref285048"></span>Tasmanian Aboriginal people</strong>, any member of the Aboriginal population of <span id="ref285050"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Tasmania" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Tasmania</a>. The Tasmanian Aboriginal people are an isolate population of <span id="ref285049"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Australian-Aboriginal" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Australian Aboriginal people</a> who were cut off from the mainland when a general rise in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/sea-level" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">sea level</a> flooded the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Bass-Strait" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Bass Strait</a> about 10,000 years ago. Their population upon the arrival of European explorers in the 17th and 18th centuries has been estimated at about 4,000. Historically, the Tasmanian Aboriginal people spoke languages that were unintelligible to mainland Aboriginal peoples.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The island was divided among several peoples who spoke different <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="dialects" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dialects" data-type="MW">dialects</a>, each with a delimited hunting territory. Subsistence was based on hunting land and sea mammals and collecting shellfish and vegetable food. In warm months the Tasmanian Aboriginal people moved through the open forest and moorlands of the interior in bands or family groups of 15 to 50 people, and in colder months they moved to the coast. Occasionally, bands gathered together for a <span id="ref1266997"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/corroboree" class="md-crosslink ">corroboree</a> (a dance celebrating important events), for a hunt, or for protection against attack.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Wooden spears, waddies (clubs, or throwing sticks), and flaked-stone tools and weapons were produced. Bone <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="implements" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/implements" data-type="MW">implements</a>, basketry, and bark canoes for coastal travel were also made. A few rock carvings depicting natural objects and conventionalized symbols have survived.</p><div class="module-spacing"> </div><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The first permanent white settlement was made in Tasmania in 1803. In 1804 an unprovoked attack by whites on a group of Tasmanian Aboriginal people was the first episode in the <span id="ref285051"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Black-War" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Black War</a>. The whites treated the Aboriginal people as subhumans, seizing their hunting grounds, depleting their food supply, attacking the women, and killing the men. Attempts by Tasmanian Aboriginal people to resist were met with the superior weaponry and force of the Europeans. Between 1831 and 1835, ostensibly in a final effort at conciliation and to prevent the extermination of approximately 200 Tasmanian Aboriginal people, they were removed to <span id="ref285052"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Flinders-Island" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Flinders Island</a>. Their social organization and traditional way of life destroyed, subjected to alien disease and attempts to “civilize” them, most of them soon died. The death in 1876 of <span id="ref285053"></span>Truganini, a Tasmanian Aboriginal woman who had aided the resettlement on Flinders Island, gave rise to the widely <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="propagated" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/propagated" data-type="MW">propagated</a> <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="myth" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/myth" data-type="MW">myth</a> that the Aboriginal people of Tasmania had become extinct.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Nevertheless, Aboriginal identity remained alive in the <span id="ref1266944"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Furneaux-Group" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Furneaux Group</a> of islands among the offspring of Aboriginal women and European sealers. The focus for this <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="community" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/community" data-type="MW">community</a> became <span id="ref1266945"></span>Cape Barren Island, on which in 1881 a reserve was established for “<span id="ref1266946"></span>half-castes,” the official designation for mixed-race individuals, who were discriminated against even as their Aboriginal identity was negated (the <a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://aiatsis.gov.au/sites/default/files/docs/digitised_collections/remove/54280.pdf" data-show-preview="true">Cape Barren Island Reserve Act of 1912</a> , for <span id="ref1266993"></span>example, identified the islanders as a distinct people requiring special regulation by the government but did not recognize them as Aboriginal people).</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">By the 1970s a movement for Aboriginal rights in Tasmania had begun to gain steam, led by activists who pointedly identified themselves as Aboriginal people rather than as the “descendants” of Aboriginal people. Soon the movement’s goals moved beyond recognition of Aboriginal identity to the pursuit of land rights. With the <span id="ref1266996"></span>adoption of the <a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/resources/transcripts/tas7_doc_1995.pdf" data-show-preview="true">Aboriginal Lands Act of 1995</a> , the Tasmanian government began returning control of significant places (including most of Cape Barren Island in 2005) to the Tasmanian Aboriginal community. In the 2011 census, more than 19,000 Tasmanians identified as Aboriginal people, though disputes arose within the Aboriginal community over the authenticity of some of those claims.</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature font-12"><a href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</a></span> <span class="md-signature font-12">This article was most recently revised and updated by <a href="/editor/Jeff-Wallenfeldt/6749">Jeff Wallenfeldt</a>.</span><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-simplify-root"></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":583936,"pageLength":561,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.133.36"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.133.36' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"D","adLeg":"C","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"MEDIUM","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":true} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Tasmanian Aboriginal people | History & Facts | Britannica