William Lodewyk Crowther was a prominent surgeon in Tasmania in the mid 19th century, but is best known for the unsanctioned decapitation for ‘medical research’ of the body of William Lanne, the last known male Tasmanian aborigine, in 1869. This caused a furore at the time, and the suspension of his medical registration. Despite the scandal, William Crowther subsequently became premier of Tasmania in 1878. He died in 1885, and a statue was erected to honour him in Hobart’s Franklin Square in 1889. In recent years there has been a surge in critical evaluation of our ancestors, particularly in relation to involvement with slavery or racial exploitation, with this movement resulting in the removal of a number of statues in different parts of the world, which were erected to celebrate the lives of prominent figures. In 2022, the Hobart City Council voted to have Crowther’s statue removed from public display, however there has been significant difference of opinion within the Tasmanian community regarding the planned removal, and as yet nothing has happened. This paper reviews the original circumstances resulting in the current controversy. No-one knows for certain what happened to the various parts of William Lanne’s body, but there are many elements of the story that cast a fairly negative light on the otherwise positive career of one of the pioneer surgeons of Tasmania