Hobart divided over statue of man who stole Indigenous skull, as council votes on removal

William Lodewyk Crowther, later premier of Tasmania, mutilated the corpse of Aboriginal man William Lanne in 1869

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Hobart city councillors will decide on Monday whether to remove the city's controversial statue of William Lodewyk Crowther, who in 1869 mutilated the body of the Aboriginal man William Lanne.

On 4 August, the council's community, culture and events committee voted unanimously to recommend the removal of the statue from Franklin Square in central Hobart. The vote followed years of requests from the Tasmanian Aboriginal community and an art project designed to foster public discussion about the statue's future.

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