There was a writer shocked that in his town a statute had been toppled by activists – but the issue at the head was aboriginal evolutionary theory. A science of macabre grave robbing.
-->God is Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; (Acts 17:25-26)
Due to much misunderstanding of the Bible as to life after death and souls, and much plain superstition, the Anglosphere create a terrible mess in making cemeteries. Maudlin monuments feature. Over time worn, greyed marble headstones lean as if drunken, adding to an atmosphere of disquiet. The highlight of gruesome is the Victorian age. But it is not limited to that age, witness the number of books and shows on murder and death.
What is even worse, is that in Dr Crowther's disputed era, some were morbidly worried about the dead spirits while others were so dismissive of there being anything sacred as to become callous grave robbers.
On one hand in the mid 1800s we had mistaken understanding of the Bible, and on the other we had evolutionary pseudoscience:
The ABC begins the story of Crowther's divisiveness
The evolutionary pseudoscience of skull collecting
Ten years earlier, Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species.
One unfortunate consequence of this was that Aboriginal bodies became sought after by "scientists" of the time,
Dr Crowther had "long been desperate to obtain an Aboriginal skeleton" to send to the Royal College of Surgeons.
But the Royal Society also felt it had a claim to skeletons, and planned to make casts and photographs for other institutions. One of the Royal Society's leading members Morton Allport, was also a noted grave robber.
When Mr (William) Lanne died (of severe illness on March 3, 1869, aged 34), the Royal Society and the Royal College of Surgeons both asked then-Tasmanian premier Sir Richard Dry for access to Mr Lanne's body.
Sir Richard chose the Royal Society — but, in order to keep Dr Crowther onside politically, he promised him access to other Aboriginal graves.
The ABC would never admit that their now sacred evolutionary theory has faults, but clearly it has. They also won't admit that science changes. They were scientists. If the ABC admitted they were wrong back then, they might allow a glimmer of a thought that they might be wrong today.
Truth would result in positive outcomes. True understanding of the Bible, that we are of one race, would have prevented such insult to the people.
More so as the story goes on - why are they so randomly handling dead bodies?
Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean. (Hag 2:13)
This false evolutionary science wasn't a few personalities, it was the government at the highest level. Right from the beginning of the account of the events that still lead to angst today, we can see science and government.
[Mr Lanne's] body was first kept at the Hobart General Hospital, where the house surgeon was to ensure he was "protected from mutilation".
On the night of March 5, 1869, Dr Crowther convinced the surgeon to visit him for tea. When the surgeon arrived at their house, Dr Crowther and his son were not there.
It is claimed that, in the meantime, based on various witness reports, Dr Crowther had visited the unguarded hospital, removed Mr Lanne's skull, and replaced it with a skull from another body.
When the surgeon returned, it was "immediately evident that Lanne's head had been tampered with".
This was not personal. This theft was for the Royal College of Surgeons.
The next day, the Royal Society [their rival] was outraged at the theft of the skull, and had Mr Lanne's feet and hands removed in an attempt to prevent further theft.
Later that day, Mr Lanne was buried in a coffin draped with an opossum skin rug, two spears and the Union Jack, as rumours started to spread of the mutilation.
Police were ordered to guard the site afterwards, but it appears this did not occur.
There is only one reason for the body not being guarded. The head of the Government itself had an agreement to allow the Royal Society access to Lanne's bones!
That night, the remainder of Mr Lanne's body was stolen.
..Dr Crowther quickly became a suspect.
However, the hospital's wardsman claimed that Mr Lanne's body was removed by the hospital surgeon — and he had ultimately been buried in the Campbell Street cemetery.
A ministerial inquiry was held, and Dr Crowther was suspended as an honorary medical officer — but he had not been able to present his case, blaming his political opponents for prejudging him. He refused to appear at a future inquiry as a result.
This theft became such an issue that we now have a field of research from historians,
University of Tasmania historian Paul Turnbull wrote that with the benefit of hindsight, there was "no doubt" Dr Crowther was responsible for the skull removal, while the Royal Society was behind the grave robbery.
"Furthermore, the Dry government was unwilling to pursue matters too strenuously for fear that its initial agreement to allow the Royal Society Lanne's bones would become publicly known."
Historians have also been unable to prove exactly where Mr Lanne's skull ended up.
It also wasn't a bad thing to blame Dr Crowther- for something he didn't actually do – because they knew what he had done, that they couldn't prove. In any case, as that skull was not found, it shows Crowther didn't steal it for himself – personally. He did it for science.
The government allowed what happened to happen, for science.
This is why we can't ever worship science. The matter became political. The connection between politics and science is always an issue. The ABC wouldn't ask that hard question.
The statue destroyers, likely never asked the hard questions either.
Is cremation a good practice? The reason there are so few skeletons,and why there was such a demand for them, was that they mostly cremated the dead, like Indians.
The hardest question is not the legacy of Colonial government, or Britain, or false theories of science, but what is the fate of soul of that disputed lost body?
What happens after death must be an objective truth. Can the aboriginal people stand still now on their beliefs of the afterlife? What kind of belief means that life now over 100 years later is untenable, upended, and made bitter by a statue others put up long ago? Does it make sense to shorten our own lives by angst over dead men?
And don't they know that once the statue is gone there is no teaching, controversy? It will be forgotten.
We have no love of statues, pigeons may sit as they please, they may be put up or taken down as other please as long as they aren't worshipped. Then, we speak as Paul. As we pass we read who they are and we remember history - sometimes not that they were great but that, as the Bible teaches, they weren't great, being rather 'the basest of men' (Dan 4:17).
So with all the fascination with murder, mystery, death and examination of dead bodies - so few consider the leader, Christ, who is famous for saying he will open graves!
And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, (John 5:27-28)
