The death of Trugannini in May 1876 was one of the best known events in island history. For most Tasmanians it represented the end of an era and the disappearance of a race. In the wider world scientists and ethnographers saw it as compelling evidence of the iron laws of evolution, which elevated the progressive races and drove more primitive people to destruction. The fate of the island's Aborigines was a portent of further extinction. By the time of her death Trugannini was a celebrity in Hobart and her funeral was a significant event attended by the premier, cabinet ministers and religious leaders. Extraordinary precautions were taken to prevent a repeat of the notorious desecration of William Lanney's cadaver seven years previously. Her body was guarded by the police while it was in the Hobart hospital, and then moved secretly to the old convict Female Factory at the Cascades. Many people gathered in the streets to pay their last respects, only to find the body had already left the town. The service was carried out at a small Protestant chapel and the coffin was buried outside the door where it would be beyond the reach of any potential grave robbers. As it was lowered into the ground a bouquet of native shrubs was placed on the lid. A plan to erect a monument at the site never came to fruition. Her skeleton was removed from the grave a few years later and was taken by the Royal Society, which put it on display until 1951 at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.