Governor Davey's [sic] Proclamation to the Aborigines, 1816 [sic].
<p>The image depicts four scenes:
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<dl><dd>1. Peaceful intermingling of white settlers and Aborigines, all dressed in European clothing</dd>
<dd>2. An Aboriginal group shake hands with Governor Arthur watched on by peaceful white soldiers/settlers</dd>
<dd>3. An Aboriginal man spears a white settler, and is consequently hanged by the military under the watch of Governor Arthur</dd>
<dd>4. An white settler shoots an Aboriginal man and is consequently hanged by the military under the watch of Governor Arthur</dd></dl><p>Notes: Some decades after these panels (of unknown number and artist/s) were created, an original was located and mistakenly thought to have been produced during the time of Thomas Davey, Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land from 1813 to 1817. They were thus incorrectly labelled as "Governor Davey's Proclamation to the Aborigines" (and are still popularly known as such). In fact it depicts Lieutenant-Governor George Arthur's proclamation of c.1828-1830.
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Originally conceived by Surveyor General George Frankland as a way of communicating the proclamation to Aborigines, his original drawing was reproduced onto boards and mounted on trees in remote areas of Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) where Aborigines would see them.
Government of Van Diemen's Land, original conception by Surveyor General George Frankland
American Museum of National History, New York