Mary Franklin (1835 - 1852)

Born 1835 in Flinders Island, Van Diemen's Land

Died 1 Sep 1852 at about age 17 in Oyster Cove, Van Diemen's Land

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Mathinna Franklin was an Indigenous Australian. Join: Indigenous Australians Project Discuss: INDIGENOUS_AUSTRALIANS

Biography

Mathinna Franklin is Notable.

Mathinna was an Australian Aboriginal girl, who was taken from her parents and then adopted by the ^[1]Governor of Van Diemen's Land, Sir John Franklin and his wife Lady Jane. When they were recalled to England Mathinna was abandoned by her adopted family

Mary was born sometime in 1835 on Flinders Island, Van Diemen's Land. Her father was Towtrer (Towgerer, Towterer) a Port Davey Chief, ^[2]of the Lowreenne tribe, and her mother was Wongerneep. In 1830 Towtrer and his family refused to move when the ^[3] Black Line plan was implemented; the Black Line Plan was a plan to move all Tasmanian Aborigines to Flinders Island. George Augustus Robinson's, the so called Protector of Aborigines, first spoke to Towtrer in 1830 initially trusted him. However, in 1833 George Robinson-15817 returned and captured Towtrer's and Wongerneep's first daughter, Djuke, whom they had named Djuke Robinson (see ref.2), while her parents were away, forcing Towtrer and his wife Wongerneep to agree to move to Flinders Island.

George Robinson wrote in his diary that Aboriginal families should not be split up by force, because they afterward pine away and die.

Despite what George Robinson wrote Towtrer's and Wongerneep first daughter was never returned to her family but was sent to Queen’s Orphan School in Hobart where she died after living at the orphanage for a few years.

In 1840 when Mary was only five years old ,Sir John and Lady Jane Franklin visited Flinders Island and took a liking to Mary and decided to adopt her. They changed her name to Mathinna.

^[4] The Hobart Mercury's report of Mathinna said Mathinna arrived at Government House Hobart with a kangaroo skin, a rush basket, some shell necklaces and a pet possum.

Mathinna's life suddenly changed, instead of living in the Aboriginal community with her family, she was now the child of the Governor of Tasmania and she rode in the carriage with Lady Franklin and her daughter Eleanor. It was when Mathinna started living with the Franklins that Lady Jane Franklin commissioned Thomas Bock to paint Mathinna’s portrait in the red dress; you have to wonder what were the reasons the Franklin's adopted Mathinna. Their daughter Eleanor Franklin kept a diary in which she mentioned Mathinna only twice: It doesn't sound like Eleanor was close to Mathinna.

Eleanor ^[5]wrote The last Aborigines were caught about a fortnight ago, and sent to Flinders Island, so that our little native girl is the only one remaining here. She is improving I think, though it will be a long time before she becomes quite civilised.

For 3 years Mathinna was raised with Sir John's daughter Eleanor and they shared a governess. A part of a letter written by Mathinna reveals how different her life was from living with her family at Flinders Island to living at Government House

I am good little girl, I have pen and ink cause I am a good little girl . . . . I have got a doll and shift and a petticoat. I read I have a got a red frock like my father, I do love my father. Come here to see my father. My father I thank thee for sleep I have got sore feet and shoes and stockings and I am very glad

In 1843 Sir John Franklin was recalled to England and for some reason they left 8 year old Mathinna behind. She was sent to ^[6] Queen’s Orphan School in Hobart, the same orphanage, where the sister she never met had died. It is noted that The Queen's Orphan Asylum was a terrible place, even by the standards of the days. It was a place of overcrowding, disease, hunger and punishment were everyday occurrences, with many dying of scarlet fever. . Mathinna found it difficult to adjust after living in Government House for 3 years. She was sent back to Flinders Island in 1844 when she was 9 years old , she lived with Fanny Cochrain Smith-149029 another aboriginal girl .Fanny Cochrane Smith later said she was treated very badly by the preacher of Wybalenna, whose house she shared with Mathinna but there are no known records of Mathinna's time there.

Mathinna could not settled into the community after living with the Franklins at Government House and she really wasn't accepted by the Aboriginal community; she had been living with her white family for to long. Mathinna’s step-father died when Mathinna was eleven and her mother had already died by this time. It was cruel to take Mathinna from her Aboriginal family at such a young age, change her name and give her a completely different life, then abandon her. It must of been hard for Mathinna not knowing which world she belonged in, her Aboriginal community or her adopted white family and than not being accepted by either community. When she was twelve Mathinna was returned once again to the Queen’s Orphan School. The governor had a country house at New Norfolk, near Hobart. Mathinna had visited this house when she was a member of the Franklin household. She now went there at Christmas for a treat, as an orphan from the school. In 1851, when she was 16 years old, she returned to the aboriginal settlement at ^[7] Oyster Cove, west of Hobart.

Mathinna found it very hard to settle anywhere and it wasn't long before she was selling her body for alcohol and enough food just to survive. In 1852, when Mathinna was 17 she left a hotel in North West Bay and drowned in a puddle. Mathinna was buried in the Oyster Cove Aboriginal cemetery, and was among the remains exhumed by William Crowther in 1907 and taken to the University of Melbourne. The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre campaigned to have all remains from Oyster Cove returned. All the remains were cremated in a ceremony in 1985. The story of Mathinna is a sad story. She was caught between two cultures and could not fit into either world.

Richard Flanagan wrote about a fictional Mathinna in his novel Wanting ^[8], after being haunted by the ^[9]painting of the young girl in the bright red dress.

The Tasmanian Town of Mathinna is named after her.

Sources

1. ↑ The companion to Tasmanian History - Sir John and Lady Jane Franklin
2. ↑ Tasmanian History
3. ↑ Indigenous Australia - The Tasmanian Invasion - Land War
4. ↑ Trove Digitised Newspapers -The Mercury Hobart 7 June 1869
5. ↑ Carmel Bird - Mathinna - A short strange secret misty smokey mysterious history
6. ↑ Find and connect.gov.au - The Queen's Orphan Asylum opened as the King's Orphan Asylum in New Town in 1833. It was the first purpose built institution for orphaned, destitute and neglected children in Van Diemen's Land, later Tasmania. It closed in 1879.
7. ↑ Tasmanian History - Oyster Cove - In 1847, 47 Tasmanian Aboriginal people incarcerated for fifteen years at Wybalenna on Flinders Island arrived to take up forced residency at Oyster Cove station
8. ↑ Wikipedia - The novel Wanting is a 2008 novel by Australian author Richard Flanagan
9. ↑ Trove Digitised Newspapers - The Mercury Hobart Thursday 7 June 1951 interesting Painting

See Also:

• "ABC - The hidden story of Mathinna spirited, gifted, utterly destroyed
• "Wikipedia - Mathinna Tasmanian
• "Trove Digitised Newspapers - Launceston Examiner Tuesday 19 August 1884 The Native girl Mathinna