A project to re-imagine and eventually remove a contentious statue of colonial figure William Crowther in Hobart’s CBD has been nominated for a prestigious national local government award.
The City of Hobart’s “Crowther Reinterpreted” project has been nominated in two categories at the National Awards for Local Government – Arts & Culture and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Recognition.
The project responded to long-standing calls from Tasmania’s Palawa community for action over the statue, which had become a focal point for debates about colonisation and Indigenous recognition.
Beginning in 2021, the initiative featured temporary public artworks designed to stimulate community discussion about Crowther’s legacy, including his controversial removal of Aboriginal man William Lanne’s skull in 1869.
Despite facing challenges including illegal vandalism in May last year, the City of Hobart successfully removed the last piece of the bronze statue from its plinth in September.
The project has established what the Local Government Association of Tasmania described as a “legal precedent” that recognises how “Palawa culture and associations must be considered in significance assessment” of public monuments.
Voting to support the nomination is open until April 28 through the National Awards for Local Government platform.
