On 2nd November 2015 the handover of Australian Indigenous human remains took place in Queen Eleanor’s Garden at the Great Hall, Winchester.
The remains had come to light in 2006 when they were discovered in the Biology Store by the Curator of Natural Sciences, Christine Taylor. They had been donated to the Hampshire County Museum Service by a research biologist in the 1980s. The process of repatriation, which included biometric analysis to confirm their Aboriginal origin, took almost a decade to complete.
Fortunately, there was some documentation with the remains which enabled the Australian Government to trace their origin to Delicate Nobby, seven miles south of Crescent Head in the region of Kempsey, New South Wales.
Following the publication of two reports confirming the origin of the remains, the Dunghutti people, were informed and formal repatriation proceedings began.
The handover ceremony was presided over by Mr Kenneth Dickson, an Elder of the Dunghutti people, who performed a smoking and water ceremony.
https://news.aboriginalartdirectory.com/2015/11/delicate-nobby-man-comes-home.php
"An initial hurdle was trying to locate someone for advice on repatriating the remains – there wasn’t much information on the internet at the time. I initially contacted the National Museum of Australia, who passed me on to the Australian High Commission in London. But tracking down the most appropriate people for the return of the Aboriginal remains turned out to be a lengthy process - though I can appreciate that there are various procedures that need to be followed."
As Christine Taylor told me, “It was a real honour and a privilege to meet Mr. Kenneth Dickson, an Elder of the Dunghutti people. The handover ceremony was a very special event”.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-12/aboriginal-remains-repatriated-from-england-to-nsw-mid-north-co/6933632
The remains had come to light in 2006 when they were discovered in the Biology Store by the Curator of Natural Sciences, Christine Taylor. They had been donated to the Hampshire County Museum Service by a research biologist in the 1980s. The process of repatriation, which included biometric analysis to confirm their Aboriginal origin, took almost a decade to complete.
Fortunately, there was some documentation with the remains which enabled the Australian Government to trace their origin to Delicate Nobby, seven miles south of Crescent Head in the region of Kempsey, New South Wales.
Following the publication of two reports confirming the origin of the remains, the Dunghutti people, were informed and formal repatriation proceedings began.
The handover ceremony was presided over by Mr Kenneth Dickson, an Elder of the Dunghutti people, who performed a smoking and water ceremony.
https://news.aboriginalartdirectory.com/2015/11/delicate-nobby-man-comes-home.php
"An initial hurdle was trying to locate someone for advice on repatriating the remains – there wasn’t much information on the internet at the time. I initially contacted the National Museum of Australia, who passed me on to the Australian High Commission in London. But tracking down the most appropriate people for the return of the Aboriginal remains turned out to be a lengthy process - though I can appreciate that there are various procedures that need to be followed."
As Christine Taylor told me, “It was a real honour and a privilege to meet Mr. Kenneth Dickson, an Elder of the Dunghutti people. The handover ceremony was a very special event”.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-12/aboriginal-remains-repatriated-from-england-to-nsw-mid-north-co/6933632