The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre has written to the Premier, calling for a plaque which commemorates the discovery of Tasmania by Abel Tasman in 1642 to be removed from a government building in the Launceston CBD.
The groups says the plaque is offensive and perpetuates a ‘myth’ that Tasmania was discovered by white Europeans rather than the truth, which is that Aboriginal people were living in the area for may years before white settlement.
This is the group’s second attempt to have the plaque removed.
The building is used by the City of Launceston, which says the request is a matter for the state government to decide.
It follows a decision in the past week for a statue of former Premier William Crowther to be removed from Franklin Square in Hobart.
