Public Lecture | The Wedge Collection and the Conundrum of Humane Colonisation

Public Lecture | The Wedge Collection and the Conundrum of Humane Colonisation
Photo by Joy Lai, State Library of NSW  

 

Surveyor John Helder Wedge collected Indigenous artefacts at the close of the Van Diemen's Land 'Black War' and the first months of settlement in Port Phillip in 1835. They remain in Saffron Walden Museum in Essex. It has been suggested that Wedge sought the artefacts out of a rare ‘humanitarian’ interest in Indigenous people. Rebe Taylor finds, however, that while Wedge's rhetoric was compassionate, his actions and interests on the Tasmanian and Victorian frontiers were not always benevolent.

Rebe Taylor presents a detective-story account of her attempts to match artefacts to encounters framed within a broader exploration of the conundrum 'humane colonisation'. Rebe will also reflect on her research journey and experiences working with libraries, archives and museums in Britain and Australia.

Date & time

Wed 08 Nov 2017, 6–7pm

Location

ARC Theatre, National Film and Sound Archive

Speakers

Dr Rebe Taylor (University of Melbourne)

Contacts

Penny Brew
+61 2 6125 4357

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Updated:  8 November 2017/Responsible Officer:  Head, Centre/Page Contact:  CASS Marketing & Communications