Launceston Examiner

AUGUST 1 2021 - 9:00AM

Tongerlongeter's story shared 

in book by Dr Henry Reynolds 

and Dr Nick Clements

• 

  Ebony Abblitt

The story of Aboriginal war hero Tongerlongeter is one of sadness, sacrifice and strength - and has been largely untold until now.

Tasmanian historians Dr Henry Reynolds and Dr Nick Clements have now released Tongerlongeter: First Nations Leader and Tasmanian War Hero.

It was during that time the story of Tongerlongeter was discovered by Dr Clements, and one that he wanted to share with the rest of the world.

"There's two pillars to this book - one is this incredible story of this warrior which remarkably has been unknown and untalked about up until now, and then there's the implicit story, that is what do we do now we know this," he said.

"We have memorials in every town in Australia for people who fought in World War I and World War II and the Boer War, and yet the most important conflicts for us as Australians and Tasmanians were fought here on this country for this country.

"People like Tongerlongeter, if they don't exemplify our national virtues then nobody does, so we feel that starting with Tongerlongeter and starting with the Black War, we need to commemorate these conflicts and these heroes."

Years worth of work have been collated into the book - which shares the story of Tongerlongeter's resistance campaign against British soldiers and colonists, and the journey they made to eventually reside on Flinders Island.

"Historians over the last couple of generations have worked really hard to bring to public knowledge how terrible things were for Aboriginal people, and there's no doubt they were," he said.

"That victim narrative has dominated the story too much - what gets lost in the story is the tremendous resistance that many of these people were able to mount against incredible odds.

"Tongerlongeter is a classic example of someone who is a victim, he lost his people, his culture, his arm, his son and eventually his own life in the source of this conflict, but he was an agent as well ... he and his warriors gave the British empire serious pause.

"He wasn't just a nuisance, he was a fundamental threat to the colony."

Dr Clements said the time for change was now - and he was glad to see plans underway for a Black War memorial in Hobart - with in-principle support from Aboriginal leaders and RSL Tasmania.

"This will be an Australian first," he said.

"I imagine that within a generation, every state of Australia will be having memorials not only to frontier conflict but the heroes of that conflict, and the victims."

The book is in store now at Petrarch's in Launceston.