Template:POTD/2010-08-23
A proclamation board labelled "Governor Davey's Proclamation" painted in Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) about 1830 in the time of Governor Arthur. This was designed to show former Governor Thomas Davey's desire that colonists and aboriginals be seen as equal before the law. Davey's greatest accomplishment was the establishing of Hobart as a free port, but he also attempted to curtail bushranging and encouraged the proper treatment of aborigines. However, the proclamation board, which was distributed through the country during the height of the Black War by being nailed on trees, incorrectly depicted a policy of friendship and equal justice which simply did not exist at the time.Image: Government of Van Diemen's Land from a concept by Surveyor General George Frankland