News that the wreck of either HMS Terror or Erebus has been discovered in Canadian waters closes the chapter on one of Tasmania's greatest colonial mysteries.
Sir John Franklin, who was Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land between 1837 -1843, disappeared in 1846 as he led a British naval expedition which was attempting to chart and navigate a section of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic.
The two ships were abandoned after getting stuck in ice and the entire crew perished from starvation, hyperthermia and disease.
Some graves were later found but exactly what happened to the ill-fated voyage has been a source of debate and speculation over the past 170 years.
As Governor, Sir John had a reputation, unpopular at the time, for progressive views and support for a more humane penal colony. But while his views were unpopular with the civil servants of the colony, he was popular among the people of Tasmania.
I recently met with Alison Alexander, the author of the award winning book on the life of Sir John's wife, Lady Jane, entitled The Ambitions of Jane Franklin.
Theirs was a fascinating story and now that this mystery may have been solved I am keen to communicate with the Federal Government and encourage them to work with the Canadian Government on how information about the shipwreck can add to our understanding of this important chapter in Tasmania's history.
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