[5] Luggenemenener threw herself over her little child, Rolepana, when the roving party threatened her People in 1829, completely covering him and saving his life.
[2] From 1828-1830, John Batman, who would later become Melbourne's "founding father", led a group called the ‘roving parties’ to round up and shoot Tasmanian Aboriginals and settle on the north-east land near Ben Lomond.
A closer look at Governor Arthur's quote shows a more nuanced image of Batman's motivations and behaviour on behalf of the government in these so-called "roving groups".
[7] For example, in September 1829, Batman (aged 28) led an attack in Ben Lomond on an Aboriginal family group of 60–70 men, women, and children with the help of several "Sydney blacks" he brought to Tasmania.
"They promised faithfully to return with all of their tribe," Luggenemenener wept as she shook hands with Batman, as he urged her to convince their band to surrender.
[12] This band was led by the respected chief Mannalargenna, who used his diplomatic skills as a slave trader on the sea frontier to charm Batman and his neighbours.
Mannalargenna and his band deserted Batman’s farm in the middle of the night, helping themselves to his dogs and supplies after obtaining food and protection for ten days.
[14] These 160 survivors were deemed safe from white settlers in this area, but living conditions were bad, diseases spread quickly, and the resettlement scheme was short-lived.
Robinson's writes about the tragedy to her life, and her sadness, as well as the beauty of the community, which undoubtedly gave her power.A woman with circular pieces of rope [illegible] kin – appended to her back.
Aboriginals who are grieving are often described as inconsolable by their relatives:[22][T]he gentle feelings of our natives are almost borne down with agonising sympathy.”[23] “The poignancy of sorrow expressed by them on the death of their friends (which has been often truly painful to me to witness) cannot be surpassed among any class of people.
The loss of a loved one during a war was difficult enough, but when conventional rituals to insure the soul's transmigration were unavailable, those left behind were terrified of the deceased spirit.
The rituals were vital, and all efforts were made to recover the bodies of their fallen comrades.The ashes of the dead were collected in a piece of Kangaroo-skin, and every morning, before sunrise, till they were consumed, a portion of them was smeared over the faces of the survivors, and a death song sung, with great emotions, tears clearing away lines among the ashes.
She is remembered as a young woman living far from her Ben Lomond homeland, marooned on a Bass Strait Island, her child taken from her, and her people murdered.
[26] Tasmanian Aboriginal culture's rope and fibre weaving in jewellery, bags, and boats is a pattern that is possibly mirrored in Luggenemenener’s rope-entwined mourning dress.