Dolly Dalrymple (c. 1808–1864) was a

Tasmanian Aboriginal The Aboriginal Tasmanians (palawa kani: ''Palawa'' or ''Pakana'') are the Aboriginal people of the Australian island of Tasmania, located south of the mainland. At the time of European contact, Aboriginal Tasmanians were divided into a numb ...

woman. She was a known figure in the Tasmanian colonial legends.

Biography

Dolly Dalrymple was born on one of the

Furneaux Islands The Furneaux Group is a group of approximately 100 islands located at the eastern end of Bass Strait, between Victoria and Tasmania, Australia. The islands were named after British navigator Tobias Furneaux, who sighted the eastern side of ...

, between Victoria and Tasmania, to Woretemoeteyenner (also known as Pung or Margaret), daughter of the chief Mannarlargenna from

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania during the European exploration of Australia, European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal Tasmanians, Aboriginal-inhabited island wa ...

, and George Briggs from

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

, England. Her mother was either kidnapped by or paid to live with Briggs, who later sold her on to another sealer for a

guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

. Dolly Dalrymple became the foster child of the surgeon Jacob Mountgarrett (1773–1828), of

Port Dalrymple George Town (palawa kani: ''kinimathatakinta'') is a large town in north-east Tasmania, on the eastern bank of the mouth of the Tamar River. The Australian Bureau of Statistics records the George Town Municipal Area had a population of 6,764 as ...

, who had her baptised with the surname Dalrymple and educated her in Western domestic chores. From 1825, she lived with the convict Thomas Johnson (1801–1867), with whom she had several children and married six years later, in October 1831. Earlier in the same year she had successfully defended her hut and children against an attack by Aboriginals while Johnson was away. She was rewarded by the government with of land at

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, where she moved with Johnson and her children. In 1841 she was assisted by the government to bring her mother Woretemoeteyenner, then residing at Wybalenna, on

Flinders Island Flinders Island, the largest island in the Furneaux Group, is a island in the Bass Strait, northeast of the island of Tasmania. Today Flinders Island is part of the state of Tasmania, Australia. It is from Cape Portland, Tasmania, Cape Portl ...

, to live with her at Perth on the mainland of Tasmania. By this time, Dalrymple had seven children. The entire family moved to the

Mersey The River Mersey () is a major river in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it ...

region in 1845. Thomas Johnson eventually became wealthy and purchased in the modern locality of Latrobe where he founded Sherwood Hall beside the Mersey and Railton Road. Dolly Dalrymple often managed his estates during his absence.

References

{{authority control 1800s births 1864 deaths 19th-century Australian people 19th-century Indigenous Australian people Indigenous Tasmanian people 19th-century Australian women