The Daily Life and Origin of the Tasmanians

A non-conformist school-master and writer's sympathetic anthropological account of the near-extinct Tasmanian aborigines, published in 1870.

James Bonwick (Author)

9781108038959, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 8 November 2011

342 pages, 17 b/w illus. 1 colour illus. 1 map 2 tables 2 music examples
21.6 x 14 x 1.9 cm, 0.44 kg

James Bonwick (1817–1906) arrived in Tasmania, then Van Diemen's Land, in 1841, beginning an unstable and itinerant career as school-master, writer, and archivist. A zealous non-conformist and mystic, who was briefly in contact with Madame Blavatsky, Bonwick became interested in the plight of the Tasmanian aborigines after a visit to Flinders Island, to which the last of the nearly extinct population had been removed. Published in 1870, by which time Bonwick had become a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, this book is a sympathetic anthropological study of indigenous Tasmanian culture and society, based on colonial records, interviews with early settlers and Bonwick's own experiences. The companion volume to The Last of the Tasmanians, which discussed the reasons for the extinction and was cited by Darwin in The Descent of Man, it provides important source material, as well as insight into the morally difficult subject of nineteenth-century anthropology.

1. Intellect of the Tasmanians
2. Character
3. Food
4. Dress and ornament
5. Amusements
6. Arts and manufactures
7. Women and children
8. Government and number
9. Disease
10. Burial
11. Physical appearance
12. Language
13. Superstitions
14. Origin of the Tasmanians
A sketch of the geology of Tasmania
Appendix
Reviews of Mr. Bonwick's colonial works.

Subject Areas: Australasian & Pacific history [HBJM]