Crowther Reinterpreted Project nominated for national local government award

The Hobart City Council’s decision to remove the controversial Crowther statue from Franklin Square still causes division in the community. Why an award nomination has reignited the debate.

Council workers remove the statue. The William Crowther statue in Franklin Square Hobart has been vandalised overnight resulting in the statue being removed from it's plinth and then removed by Hobart City Council. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

The removal of a controversial statue of William Crowther has been nominated for a national local government award prompting both indignation and delight.

The Local Government Association of Tasmania announced on its Facebook page that the Crowther Reinterpreted Project had been nominated for a national award for local government under the Arts and Culture and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Recognition.

LGAT president Mick Tucker acknowledged some people were unhappy with the nomination but said any council’s success should be highlighted.

“We know the statue is a very, very contentious issue but when a council is nominated for a national award, we put it on our LGAT (Facebook) page. There is no vetting process.

“We support every single council in Tasmania.

“They’ve made the award, rightly or wrongly, people may have an opinion on it but we treat everybody equally.”

Tasmanian Aboriginal Artist Allan Mansell with the William Crowther statue he transformed into 1st Nations Tasmanian King Billy at Franklin Square, Hobart. Picture: Chris Kidd

Acting Lord Mayor Dr Zelinda Sherlock said seeing the nomination was “an opportunity for the city to share their story with the rest of Australia”.

She said the city council followed an extensive and thorough process of consultation and planning, and a majority voted that the statue be removed.

“It was a growth moment for our city, and we recognise that not everyone agreed, but democratic principles were at the heart of our decision-making process,” Dr Sherlock said.

“We also listened to continued requests from the Palawa community for action and started the process of generating discussion and raising awareness through public artworks in 2021.

“Our objective from the start was to bring the Hobart community along with us on this journey, consulting with both Palawa and non-Palawa community members, which ultimately led to the approval for the removal of the bronze statue.”

William Crowther statue transformed into 1st Nations Tasmanian King Billy at Franklin Square, Hobart, by Tasmanian Aboriginal Artist Allan Mansell. Picture: Chris Kidd

Dr Sherlock condemned illegal vandalism but said the process created a legal precedent that “acknowledges how Palawa culture and associations may be considered in significance assessments, into the future”.

Hobart councillor Louise Elliot disagreed and said the council’s actions “deeply divided the community which is nothing to be seeking praise for”.

“Seeking awards for actions that have upset many people and destroyed the council’s reputation when it comes to fairness and heritage protection shows how out of touch the council is,” she said.

“The process was a smear campaign that saw the statue vandalised under the guise of it being ‘artwork’ and promoted false and unsubstantiated information.

“The whole community would have gotten behind adding more artwork and interpretation to our city that focused on Aboriginal perspectives and people. Instead, one group has their heritage destroyed.”

The council voted to remove the bronze statue in 2022 because Dr Crowther was known for mutilating the remains of Aboriginal man, William Lanne, stealing his skull and sending it to the Royal College of Surgeons in London.

Erected 135 years ago it was cut off at the ankles last year and removed.

Originally published as Crowther Reinterpreted Project nominated for national local government award