William Lanne

William Lanne

William Lanne (also known as King Billy or William Laney) (c. 1835 - March 3, 1869) was a Tasmanian Aboriginal, and third husband of Truganini.He is most well-known as the last surviving male of the Oyster Cove clan.

Lanne was captured along with his family in 1842 during a period known as the Black War. He was taken to the Aboriginal camp at Wybelenna on Flinders Island by George Augustus Robinson. In 1847, he temporarily moved to Oyster Cove, and was sent to an orphanage in Hobart until 1851. In 1855 he joined a whaling ship.

Lanne died on 3 March 1869 from a combination of cholera and dysentery.

Following his death his body was dismembered and used for scientific purposes. An argument broke out between the Royal College of Surgeons of England and the Royal Society in Tasmania over who should possess his remains. A member of the English College of Surgeons, William Crowther, managed to break into the morgue where Lanne's body was kept and decapitated the corpse, removed the skin and inserted a skull from a white body into the black skin. The Tasmanian Royal Society soon discovered Crowther's work, and decided to thwart any further attempts to collect "samples" by amputating the hands and feet and discarding them separately. Lanne was then buried in this state.

His name was given to the "King Billy Pine", or Athrotaxis, a native Tasmanian tree whose wood is renowned for its durability to rot and insects.

External links

* [http://www.islandmag.com/96/article.html Island Magazine Article on Trugannini and Lanne's bodies desecrations]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • William Lanne — Oyster Cove William Lanne (* …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Île Saint-Lanne Gramont — Vorlage:Infobox Insel/Wartung/Bild fehlt Île Saint Lanne Gramont Gewässer Indischer Ozean Inselgruppe Kerguelen Geographische Lage …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Tasmanier — Die letzte Gruppe von Tasmaniern. 1. von rechts: Truganini, 3. von rechts: William Lanne Die Tasmanier sind ein Sammelbegriff für die Stämme der Aborigines, die Tasmanien bewohnten. Die britische Kolonialisierung seit der Entdeckung Tasmaniens… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • 1869 in Australia — See also: 1868 in Australia, other events of 1869, 1870 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.Incumbents Governors Governors of the Australian colonies: *Governor of New South Wales – Somerset Lowry Corry, 4th Earl Belmore *Governor …   Wikipedia

  • Aboriginal Tasmanians — This article is about the indigenous people of the island state of Van Diemen s Land (Tasmania). For other indigenous people see Indigenous peoples (disambiguation) Parlevar (Eng:Palawa) (Tasmanian Aborigines) Regions with significant populations …   Wikipedia

  • Tasmanian Aborigines — Infobox Ethnic group group=Palawa (Tasmanian Aborigines) poptime= 16,000 popplace= region1 = flagcountry|Australia langs= Tasmanian languages, Palawa kani rels= Australian Aboriginal mythologyThe Tasmanian Aborigines (Audio IPA|lang=US English|En …   Wikipedia

  • List of Indigenous Australian historical figures — Some Indigenous Australians are remembered in history for leadership prior to European colonisation, some for their resistance to that colonisation, others for assisting Europeans explore the country. Some became infamous for their deeds, and… …   Wikipedia

  • Liste prominenter Aborigines — Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Prominente Aborigines 1.1 Kunst und Kultur 2 Geschichte 2.1 Politik 2.2 Sport …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Tasmanien — Tasmania Flagge Wappen (Details) ( …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Truganini — Oyster Cove, der letzte Wohnort von Truganini …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”