William Lodewyk Crowther (1817–1885) was a Tasmanian politician, surgeon, and naturalist, born in Haarlem, Netherlands. His family moved to Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) in 1824, where he was educated at Richard B. Claiborne’s Grammar School in Longford. Crowther pursued medical training in London and Paris, funded by selling his collection of animal skins, and returned to Hobart in 1842 to take over his father’s medical practice. He specialized in surgery, particularly bladder stone operations, publishing papers in The Lancet and treating patients from neighboring colonies. Appointed to the Court of Medical Examiners and as an honorary medical officer at Hobart General Hospital in 1860, he was a prominent figure in Tasmanian medicine.
Crowther’s political career began in 1866 with his election to the Tasmanian Legislative Council, followed by a term in the House of Assembly. He served as Premier of Tasmania from December 1878 to October 1879, the first medical practitioner to hold the office. Known for his “Retrenchment or Ruin” campaign, he was popular in Hobart and active in public affairs, viewing parliament as his “real club.” He also engaged in prospecting, though his ventures, like the Marie Louise mine, were unprofitable. A keen naturalist, he collected wildlife specimens from childhood, and his recreational interests included quail shooting and whist.
His legacy, however, is overshadowed by his alleged role in the 1869 mutilation of William Lanne’s body, a Tasmanian Aboriginal man considered by colonists to be the last “full-blooded” male of his people. Lanne, a whaler and activist, died of cholera and dysentery at age 34. Crowther, seeking Lanne’s skeleton for the Royal College of Surgeons in London to support discredited racial theories tied to phrenology, is said to have broken into the Hobart morgue, removed Lanne’s skull, and replaced it with one from another corpse to conceal the act. An inquiry revealed two mutilations: one at the Colonial Hospital, where Crowther and Dr. G. Stokell were suspected, and another at the cemetery, attributed to the Royal Society of Tasmania, which removed Lanne’s hands and feet. Crowther was suspended from his hospital role, and despite a petition with 48 pages of signatures seeking to annul the suspension, it was upheld. He denied the allegations, but historian Cassandra Pybus cites letters confirming his involvement. The scandal sparked public outrage, with many Tasmanians viewing his actions as a violation of decency, though he was elected to the Legislative Council weeks later.
The incident, driven by colonial pseudoscience aiming to prove European superiority, caused lasting pain for Aboriginal communities, who believe spirits cannot rest until remains are returned to their land. Crowther’s actions contributed to the desecration of other Aboriginal remains, including those of a seven-year-old girl named Mathinna. His statue, erected in Franklin Square, Hobart, in 1889 by public subscription, became a focal point of controversy. Indigenous campaigners, including Nala Mansell of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, long sought its removal, citing the trauma it represented. In August 2022, Hobart City Council voted 7-4 to remove the statue as an act of reconciliation, a decision upheld by the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. On May 15, 2024, the statue was toppled and vandalized with graffiti reading “decolonize” and “what goes around,” reflecting community sentiment. The plinth remains, intended for reinterpretation to tell the “complex” story of Crowther, Lanne, and colonial society.
Crowther died in Hobart on April 12, 1885, survived by his wife, Victoria Marie Louise, and eight children. His son Edward served in the Tasmanian parliament, and his grandson, Sir William Crowther, donated the W. L. Crowther Library to the State Library of Tasmania in 1964. Despite his achievements, historian Helen Patricia MacDonald notes that the events of 1869 define Crowther’s place in Tasmanian history, symbolizing colonial violence and the dehumanization of Aboriginal people.