Prior to the full removal, the statue of William Crowther had its legs sawn two-thirds of the way through. Image source: Wiki Ian, via Wikimedia Commons
A statue has been cut down and toppled in Hobart, with police investigating a video that shows multiple unidentified people committing the act.
The statue is of William Crowther, (1817–1885), a colonial surgeon who was known for his interest in the skeletal remains of Tasmanian Aboriginal people.
Crowther is famed for his alleged theft of Aboriginal man William Lanne’s body in 1869, when Crowther entered the hospital where Lanne’s body was kept and stole his skull, replacing it with a different man’s skull.
Lanne’s body went on to be further mutilated by the Royal Society, with his feet and hands removed. Crowther was suspended as an honorary medical officer and went on to become Tasmanian prime minister in 1878 for a year.
The monument was placed in Franklin Square, central Hobart, in 1889.
Crowther’s statue was found sawn off at the ankles and toppled, with the words “what goes around” and “decolonize” spray painted on the plinth.
The City of Hobart had voted previously to remove Crowther’s monument and have it moved into storage.
The movement was based on a heritage report released in May 2023 which described the statue as “non-significant, divisive, and derogatory to Tasmanian Aboriginal people”, also outlining how it added nothing to the location.
This was a different conclusion to a previous conservation plan from 2007 which stated the statue was of “high significance”. This plan has since been revisited.
An appeal to keep the statue in place was made based on heritage grounds.
The appeal was dismissed by the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (TASCAT) hours after the statue was removed from the plinth.
TASCAT announced their findings that the statue’s removal could have community benefits.
The City of Hobart council has released plans that detail what will happen to the sandstone plinth, which they intend to leave empty.
The council will provide a sign that reads “Why the empty plinth?” which will explain the reason for the monument’s removal while a permanent reinterpretation plan is developed.
It was possible the statue would have remained standing after the appeal was rejected, as further appeals may have been made.
Removal would only be permitted once all appeals had concluded.
However, now that the statue has been removed from the plinth, it can be moved to council storage where it can be preserved.
The council stated that they will ensure the feet that remain on the plinth will be removed and reunited with the rest of the statue.
