The Edward White History Prize
Who Was Edward White?
On Tuesday 16 March 1830, an old, dishevelled man appeared at the door of the Colonial Aide-de-Camp’s room at Government House in Hobart. He said his name was Edward White and he was there to give evidence before the Aborigines Committee of Inquiry. The inquiry had been established only a few months before, on 9 November 1829, by Lt-Governor George Arthur to enquire into the rapidly deteriorating relations between the settlers, pastoralists and convicts, and the native Aboriginal Tasmanians.
White claimed he had been an eyewitness to a terrible massacre, a massacre of Aboriginal people that had occurred 26 years earlier at Risdon Cove – the site of the first British settlement in Van Diemen’s Land. He told the Committee that he had seen ‘a great many of the Natives slaughtered and wounded’ and that ‘some of their bones were sent in two casks to Port Jackson by Dr Mountgarrett.’
His words would change the course of Tasmanian history for, not only did they affect the way we think of Risdon Cove today, but they have also played a big part in our story of colonisation and the fate of the Tasmanian Aboriginal people.
His testimony still reverberates - it played a central role in the History Wars of the early 2000s, amid the accusations of the ‘fabrication of Tasmanian Aboriginal history’; it formed the basis of an international article on the front page of the Wall Street Journal on 21 August 2000, and it is still used as a primary source of evidence by today’s historians, notably Professor Lyndall Ryan in her 2004 seminal essay on the Risdon Cove Massacre and in her current Massacre Map. Similarly, Professor Henry Reynolds in Chapter 3 of his recent co-authored book, Tongerlongeter, and Phillip Tardif in his definitive 2003 book on Risdon Cove, John Bowen’s Hobart, rely heavily on White’s ‘eye-witness’ testimony.
But was Edward White’s testimony true?
Was he actually at Risdon Cove on 3 May 1804?
In a recently published book, Truth-Telling at Risdon Cove, the authors Scott Seymour, George Brown and Roger Karge, provide evidence which they claim shows that the Edward White who testified at the 1830 Aborigines Committee must have been lying - he could not have been at Risdon Cove in 1804 to witness the massacre as he did not enter the colony until 1806.
The Debate
The book Truth-Telling at Risdon Cove was reviewed by the Tasmanian Historical Research Association (THRA) in their Proceedings Journal of August 2022 (copies can be purchased here). Although the reviewer did not like the ‘style’ of the writing, he did acknowledge that,
Here we have a book that presents new information on the confrontation at Risdon Cove in 1804, a critical event in Tasmania's history. It challenges the orthodox view of it such that, if substantiated, a significant revision will be called for in various contemporary histories. It is potentially a very important book. Unfortunately, its style is such that it may be more easily discounted than it should be. Again, this would be a mistake. The authors describe themselves as ‘amateur historians' amongst other things but even amateurs can uncover truths overlooked by others. This book needs to be read, challenged and its substance analysed and discussed.
Emeritus Professor Lyndall Ryan from the University of Newcastle has kindly taken the challenge that the ‘book needs to be read, challenged and its substance analysed and discussed’ and she has begun to convey her thoughts directly (see correspondence link below) and in print. However, we (the authors) are not convinced that the arguments put forward by Professor Ryan so far are strong enough to refute our claims (We include Ryan’s correspondence and our responses link below).
The Edward White History Prize
In a show of confidence in the research and conclusions of the book, Truth-telling at Risdon Cove, the Tasmanian history network, Hidden Histories has kindly established The Edward White History Prize with a single total prize value of $5000 to the first person or group who can prove*,
that the man who testified at the Aborigines Committee in 1830, the man we designate Edward White #1, was actually at Risdon Cove on 3 May 1804 as he claims, or
that any other man called Edward White was at Risdon Cove on 3 May 1804 (irrespective of whether he was the one who testified in 1830).
The prize will consist of $4000 to the person or group submitting the proof, plus we will make a $500 donation to both Professor Ryan’s group at the University of Newcastle and to THRA to use in anyway that they choose.
Lesser valued prizes, in a size and at the discretion of the judges, will be offered for a proof* that,
shows that Edward White #2 (below) was actually the same man as Edward White #1, or
shows that a new candidate (previously unknown to us authors) with the name of Edward White exists and could have been at Risdon Cove by 3 May 1804 (i.e. Edward White #4 below), or
shows that a man called Edward White was sent to, or arrived in, Van Dieman’s Land prior to 3 May 1804.
There are several potential Edward Whites that we have identified in this story and we have designated them as below.
Convict photograph of a George White, a convict of ca 1875 in Port Arthur, as a proxy for our Edward White, for whom no photographs exist.
Edward White #1 - The man calling himself Edward White who gave testimony before the Aborigines Committee in Hobart on 16 March 1830. There is general consensus amongst historians that this Edward White #1 is the same man who made several petitions for government assistance in the years 1830 to 1835 in Hobart, Van Dieman’s Land.
The core of the debate about the Risdon Cove affray is whether this man, Edward White #1 was telling the truth when he testified in 1830 that, 26 years earlier, he was in Risdon Cove on 3 May 1804 and thus an eye-witness to the events of that day.
Edward White #2 - The convict who embarked from Cork, Ireland on the Atlas on 29 November 1801 and who is relied upon by some historians to have arrived in Sydney on 6 July 1802. Because all records discovered to date show that he is the only Edward White to have had the potential to have arrived in the colony prior to 3 May 1804, he is the prime candidate for the Edward White ‘witness’ at Risdon Cove in 1804, and then for the testifier in 1830.
However, research in the book,Truth-Telling at Risdon Cove, indicates that he died en-route and so never arrived in the colony.
Edward White #3 - The convict who embarked from Cork, Ireland 31 August 1805 on the Tellicherry and who disembarked in Sydney on 15 February 1806.
The authors of the book, Truth-Telling at Risdon Cove, claim, and provide evidence in support, that this Edward White #3 is in fact the same man as Edward White #1, who testified before the 1830 Aborigines Committee. He thus lied when he claimed that he was at Risdon Cove on 3 May 1804 - he could not have been as he was still in Ireland and had not yet arrived in the colony.
Edward White #4 - Another, hitherto unknown candidate(s), also going by the name(s) of Edward White, who has not already been identified in the book Truth-Telling at Risdon Cove and was in Van Dieman’s Land prior to 16 March 1830.
* a proof is defined as one or more pieces of evidence such as a primary document or a record such as a newspaper article, shipping list, police or magistrates record, a convict record, letter, journal entry, etc that can be independently corroborated to the satisfaction of the Prize judges. It does not include documents that the 1830 Edward White #1 himself had a hand in generating.
For example, in Edward White’s petition of ca May 1833, it is claimed that,
‘The petitioner is the oldest resident in Van Dieman’s Land having arrived at Restdown with Lieutenant Bowen in the year 1803…’
This petition itself cannot be accepted as a proof document given that it was most likely prepared by a scribe taking a deposition from Edward White himself (Edward White was believed to be illiterate - he signed his name with a cross on a magistrates record). If however, for example, it was found that an Edward White was included as a convict on the 1803 First Settler’s Association listing, then this 1833 petition document would serve as corroborating evidence [however, Edward White is not on the 1803 First Settlers listing].
Terms and Conditions : Contestants to submit their entries including copies of proof documents by email to:
dark.emu.exposed@gmail.com, Attention: The Edward White History Prize Judges,
The judges of the Edward White History Prize have full discretion as to whether or not to award the main prize and/or the lesser valued prizes in part or in full.
