---
node: au_truganini
type: person
slug: truganini
title: "Truganini"
lead: "A Palawa woman of the Tasmanian Aboriginal people who lived through the collapse of her homeland's society under colonisation and is often spoken of as a symbol of her generation."
published: 2026-07-15
updated: 2026-07-15
---

## Who they were

Truganini was born around 1812 on Bruny Island. Her family fell victim to settler violence when she was young, and she lived through the upheaval of her people's world.

## What they did

In the 1830s she joined George Augustus Robinson's mission to relocate the Aboriginal Tasmanians and travelled the islands. Removal and disease devastated Tasmanian Aboriginal society.

## Legacy

Her death in 1876 was often described as that of the last full-blood Tasmanian Aboriginal person, yet her descendants and culture continue today. She stands for both the tragedy and the survival of the Tasmanian Aboriginal people.