Fanny Cochrane Smith
| Fanny Cochrane Smith | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | December 1834 Settlement Point (or Wybalenna, meaning Black Man's House) on Flinders Island, Tasmania, Australia |
| Died | 24 February 1905 (aged 70) Port Cygnet, Tasmania, Australia |
| Spouse(s) | William Smith |
| Children | 11 children |
| Parent(s) | Tanganutura and Nicermenic |
Fanny Cochrane Smith (December 1834 – 24 February 1905) was an Aboriginal Tasmanian, born in December 1834. She is considered to be the last fluent speaker of a Tasmanian language, and her wax cylinder recordings of songs are the only audio recordings of any of Tasmania's indigenous languages.
Fanny Cochrane's mother and father, Tanganutura and Nicermenic, were two of the Tasmanian Aboriginals settled on Flinders Island in the 1830s by the Rev. George Augustus Robinson, and she was born at Settlement Point (or Wybalenna, meaning Black Man's House) on Flinders Island. No indigenous name is known; Robinson gave European names to all the Indigenous Tasmanians who arrived at the Island as part of his attempt to suppress their culture.
From the age of five to eight she lived in the home of Robert Clark, the Wybalenna preacher, and was then sent to the orphan school in Hobart to learn domestic service skills after which she returned to Wybalenna. She served as Clark's servant until the station closed in 1847. In 1847 her parents, along with the survivors of Wybalenna were removed to Oyster Cove.
In 1854, Fanny married William Smith, an English and ex-convict, and between 1855 and 1880 they had 11 children.
Following her marriage, Fanny and her husband ran a boarding-house in Hobart. After receiving a government annuity of £24 and a land grant of 100 acres (40 ha), she selected land near Oyster Cove to be near her mother, sister and brother and the couple moved there shortly before their first child was born. The Smiths grew their own food but derived their income from timber.
Following the death of Truganini in 1876, Fanny laid claim to be "the last Tasmanian". The government of the Colony of Tasmania recognised this claim in 1889 and granted her 300 acres (120 ha) of land and increased her annuity to £50. She became a Methodist and gave the land needed to build a Methodist church at Nicholls Rivulet, which opened in 1901.
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