Tasmanian Aboriginal community members say it is frustrating that the state still has no public physical recognition of its bloody history of frontier violence.
There has also been criticism of the slow pace in removing – or adapting – monuments that celebrate colonial figures with problematic pasts.
Statues, memorials and monuments celebrating colonial history are commonplace in Hobart, Launceston and the state's other major centres, but there are few that recognise the Aboriginal community, and none recognising frontier violence.
Palawa elder Rodney Dillon said the issue had been raised repeatedly throughout his lifetime, but it seemed like change was never going to happen.
"A lot of us are getting old now, and this issue is still where it was decades ago. Nothing has changed since I was a kid," he said.
"There are things that aren't going to change in my lifetime now, things I thought would have happened.
"There's so many monuments that recognise the people who invaded us. Every one of them is part of the lie."
In the state's south, there is recognition of Aboriginal warrior Truganini in a small memorial near the Mount Nelson Signal Station, and at The Neck on Bruny Island.
There are no other memorials for the Aboriginal community.
Tasmanian Aboriginal author and community worker Adam Thompson said these sites were appropriate, but they also helped to perpetuate myths.
"It's a fitting place, but unfortunately, Truganini's image is associated with the 'last Tasmanian'," he said.
"Back in the day, it was a way of perpetuating the myth of Aboriginal extinction in Tasmania.
"Just memorialising Truganini is not ideal. There's so many more people who weren't as well known who were resistance fighters and important members of the community."
Concerns over controversial statue and bridge name
The Aboriginal community has also repeatedly raised concerns about a range of sites that celebrate problematic colonial figures.
Two, in particular, have been the focus of public debate — the William Crowther statue in Hobart, and the Batman Bridge north of Launceston.
One has seen progress, while the other has stalled.
The City of Hobart last year voted in favour of the "partial" removal of the Crowther statue after years of community concern over the historical figure's mutilation of the body of Aboriginal man William Lanne.
The bronze figure would be moved to the city’s valuables collection, while the base would remain alongside a new interpretative piece.
The council is now preparing a planning proposal for Franklin Square before it can move ahead with the removal.
Calls to rename the Batman Bridge – due to John Batman, in his own words, shooting and killing Aboriginal people near Ben Lomond – have failed to result in action.
In 2021, the City of Launceston agreed to write to then-premier Peter Gutwein requesting the government start the process of renaming the bridge.
The premier responded that no proposal had been put forward, meaning it was up to councils to think of an alternative name.
Councillor Tim Walker put forward the motion and said the process had since stalled.
"I tried to start the process of suggesting a name, that we work with West Tamar and George Town councils, but the method I was proposing wasn't supported," he said.
"There's no point in Launceston going out and suggesting something on its own.
"I'm more than happy to revisit it though. An issue – particularly in George Town and West Tamar – is that people might not like change."
Other sites of concern include a plaque on the side of a government building in Launceston, where multiple ministers have their offices, which credits Abel Tasman with the "discovery of this island".
The government has resisted calls to alter this, but a spokesperson said they were "aware of the issue and is taking advice".
Feedback to be sought over Queen's Domain memorial
RSL Tasmania gave in-principle support in 2021 for a Frontier War memorial in the Queen's Domain area, near Hobart's cenotaph.
Tasmanian Aboriginal community members will receive a letter this month asking for feedback on what they would like to see on the site.
Project manager Marni Ritz described the idea as a "place space", as opposed to a statue or other physical monument.
"It's not about violence. It's about palawa pakana community, their fight for their country, their culture, and their stories," she said.
"It will represent the era of most conflict, so 1803-04 to the late 1830s.
"This will be the first state-based memorial in Australia that will represent that period."
Under the orders of Governor George Arthur in 1830, remaining Aboriginal Tasmanians were rounded up in a military campaign known as the 'black line'.
In 1833, the remaining 57 Aboriginal people removed from their lands were moved to Wybalenna on Flinders Island.
Despite a promise that they could return to their homes, this never eventuated.
The few who survived Wybalenna were sent to a camp at Oyster Cove.
Calls for a 'proper treaty'
The Tasmanian government is now moving ahead with a treaty and truth-telling process, but this has already encountered challenges.
Mr Thompson said Governor Arthur was one of many from that period who are still widely celebrated in Tasmania.
"We've been focusing on the individuals who perpetrated the violence. But then there's figures like Arthur, who were making the top-down decisions, calling martial law, they're just as accountable," he said.
"To be honest, the ultimate recognition of this will be a treaty with Aboriginal people.
"A proper treaty, one that not only confronts truth-telling and righting these wrongs and monuments but also recognises Aboriginal people's relationship to country."
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said he would support a conversation around renaming Batman Bridge.
"I would always support a community discussion around those matters.
"While I believe it's a local government discussion, it involves all the community in that community discussion," he said.
