Aboriginal Law Bulletin
|
|
Home
| Databases
| WorldLII
| Search
| Feedback
Aboriginal Law Bulletin |
|
New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council recently organised a successful lobbying campaign to prevent the commercial use of Aboriginal skeletal remains at Jenolan Caves, one of the oldest tourist attractions 110 kilometres west of Sydney.
Following community concerns about the display in 'skeleton cove; the council wrote to the NSW Ministers for Tourism, Environment and Planning, and Aboriginal Affairs to register its complaint.
The cove featured the skeletal remains of an Aboriginal youth who died in the cave about 19,000 years ago. Council was concerned that the literature and publicity freely advertised the remains and was grossly insensitive to the feelings of the community.
Although there was deafening silence on the issue at the start, the bureaucracy was prodded into action after media coverage of the matter.
At a meeting organised by the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, the council was able to present its views to the Tourism Commission and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (which is meant to look after special sites under its National Parks and Wildlife Service Act).
The meeting was useful and led to various agreements: These included: The lights displaying the skeletal remains would be turned off; Any reference to the remains in Tourism Commission brochures would cease; The cave would be renamed; There would be consultation between the Tourism Commission and the Aboriginal community on its 'Management Plan' for Jenolan Caves. (This is currently under consideration).
Various members of the Public Service Association (PSA) had approached Helen Twohill, Secretary, voicing concerns that the issue would affect jobs of members. These fears have been allayed through discussions with Aubrey Phillips, Aboriginal Liaison Officer, PSA.
It was never intended that jobs would be affected by NSWALCs representation. They merely saught that there should be a shift in emphasis in the way the cave was being advertised. The cave is still open to the public which means tour guides are still needed to show sightseers around.
It's just that the 'ghoulish' elements of file tour, that is 'viewing The Aboriginal skeleton' will no longer be a highlight.
Woomera, No 4.
The Wiradjuri, Western and Murray River Regional Land Councils of NSW recently held a meeting with the Museum of Victoria in Melbourne to seek the return of 800 Aboriginal skeletal remains to the area from which they were taken.
The meeting was called by the Skeletal Remains Committee, headed by Jim Berg, currently with the museum, the Victorian Department of Aboriginal Affairs and the Victorian ALS.
It was held to canvass the land councils' views on the future of the collection. The meeting also explored avenues of returning the remains to the community under the federal Heritage Protection Act. 1986, and the Archeological Relics and Preservation Act, 1972 (Vic).
The collection is part of 1600 skeletal remains - half of which is currently held at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra.
The collection at the Melbourne Museum was originally with the University of Melbourne. It is named after Murray Black, a farmer from Gippsland, who in the 1930s dug up five burial sites along the Murray River and collected the skeletal remains as an 'amateur archeologist'.
Two years ago, Jim Berg, Chairperson of the Skeletal Remains Committee, had an injunction placed on the University seeking the collection's transfer to the museum. This was done under the Archeological Relics and Preservation Act.
The collection came into the museum's custody offer a court case and has remained there on a six monthly renewal basis.
The NSW State Land Council will write to the Victorian government requesting that the collection be returned to NSW under their Aboriginal heritage legislation. Approaches will also be made to the federal government on the status of the collection at the ANU.
These requests are in line with the NSW and Victorian land councils' stated policy that the care, management and control of Aboriginal heritage should ultimately rest in Aboriginal hands.
PARTIZANS (People Against Rio Into Zinc And Subsidiaries) publishes this 1986 alternative report on RTZ. h contains articles on Anglesay Aluminium (UK), Uranium mining at Elliot Lake (Canada), diamonds, uranium and sacred sites in Australia, Rossing uranium (Namibia), and Maori action in New Zealand.
Available from:
218 Liverpool Rd,
LONDON. N1 11e
ENGLAND.
AustLII:
Copyright Policy
|
Disclaimers
|
Privacy Policy
|
Feedback
URL: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AboriginalLawB/1987/32.html