Who was the first?

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The first person to die in a work place accident on, in or around this island has yet to be found. The problem is the starting point.

Given that Aboriginal Tasmanians have a 40,000 year history here, it is safe to say that we will never know who the first “Tasmanian” killed in a work place accident if Aboriginal history is the starting point.

However, with white settlement we have a different scenario given that there is a written and mostly accessible history, but the problem of a starting point remains.

If a seaman, in the course of his duties, dies on board ship and the captain decides that he should be buried on land rather than at sea, because of the proximity of the land, who then becomes the first person to be killed in the work place on this island. Further, should we rule out burials at sea, in the search for the first working person to die on or around the island.
Readers will note that I have used the word ‘island’ and “Tasmania” in inverted commas so far in this text. This is for a very good reason.

The history of British settlement dates from 1803, at Risdon Cove, and, at the time, the colony was part of New South Wales even though it was Van Diemen’s Land.

Therefore, if 1803 is the starting point, the question becomes, who was the first Van Diemen’s Lander to die in the course of his or her work.

If the question is: Who was the first Tasmanian to die in the course of his or her work? then the pursuit for an answer starts in 1856 when the name Van Diemen’s Land was dropped because of its historical connotations.

Having decided on a starting point, post Aboriginal Tasmanian settlement, the next interesting question relates to the circumstances of the first work place death in the island.

Most history books will note that convicts were settled in Tasmania from 1803 but that overlooks a fact made plain by Phil Hinton in the June 2011 edition of the University of Tasmania’s Alumni News.

The first settlers were soldiers or sailors, those that brought the convicts to Van Diemen’s Land and guarded them while they were here. The answer to the first work place death will be a soldier, sailor, convict or Aboriginal Tasmanian who was going about his or her “work”. The circumstances that surround the first work place death will be of interest. Beyond this, the search could continue for the first free settler to die in a work place death.

The question remains unanswered and we look for amateur and professional historians to fill in the gaps and, if possible, say, who, when, where and why, a person died in the work place and, is there any information about how the family and friends of that person were informed or supported following the ordeal.

IAN PATTIE 2011

EDITOR'S NOTE:
If you wish to contribute to the search for the first worker to have lost her/his life in Tasmania/ Van Dieman's Land please make a comment in the COMMENTS section below or email info@commemoratingtasmanianworkers.com.au