A very secret trade : the dark story of gentlemen collectors in Tasmania
Pybus, Cassandra2024
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In the nineteenth century, collectors and museum curators in Europe were fascinated by the antipodean colony of Tasmania. They cultivated contacts in the colony who could supply them with exotic specimens, including skeletons of the thylacine and the platypus. But they were not just interested in animals and plants. The belief that the original people of the colony were an utterly unique race and facing possible extinction had the European scientific community scrambling for human exhibits. Many eminent colonial figures were involved in this clandestine trade, among them four colonial governors, several key politicians and even Lady Jane Franklin. In Britain, Sir Joseph Banks, the Duke of Newcastle and Professor Thomas Huxley were among many eminent men who solicited human specimens from the colony. Worse still, the men responsible for the care and protection of the few original people who had survived the ravages of disease and the infamous Black Wars were prominent in the trade. Cassandra Pybus has uncovered one of the darkest and most carefully hidden secrets in Australia's colonial history. It is time we all knew the truth.
Main title:
A very secret trade : the dark story of gentlemen collectors in Tasmania / Cassandra Pybus.
Author:
Pybus, Cassandra, author
Imprint:
Cammeraygal Country ; Crows Nest, NSW : Allen & Unwin, 2024.©2024
Collation:
xviii, 318 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some colour), maps ; 24 cm
Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 307-314).
ISBN:
9781761066344 (pbk)9781761066344
Dewey class:
994.602305.899159
Language:
English
Subject:
Aboriginal Tasmanians -- HistoryAboriginal Tasmanians -- Crimes against -- HistoryColonists -- Tasmania -- History -- 1803-1851Aboriginal Australians, Treatment of -- History -- 19th centuryBody snatching -- TasmaniaMuseum exhibits -- EuropeExhumation -- TasmaniaHuman remains (Archaeology)Tasmania -- History -- 1803-1900
BRN:
557311
More Information:
| Location | Collection | Call number | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beaumaris Library | Adult Non Fiction - History | 994.602 PYB | Onloan - Due: 18 Oct 2024 |