Animal bones, pottery found on Women’s and Children’s Hospital construction site but Aboriginal elders not told

Bones and pottery shards have been found on the new Women’s and Children’s Hospital site and forensically examined – but Kaurna elders were left in the dark.

Culturally significant Kaurna sites across Adelaide could be being excavated and developed without proper cultural impact assessments or necessary consultation with traditional owners, a prominent elder warns.

The discovery last week of suspected animal remains and pottery items at the new Women’s and Children’s Hospital construction site has raised serious concerns with Kaurna traditional owners after they were left in the dark about the find.

It has raised questions about what process the state government has undertaken to ensure necessary cultural assessment plans are in place before major projects start and if appropriate responses and safeguards were executed when potentially significant items were unearthed.

Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation (KYAC) chairman Tim Agius has demanded the state government produce the Cultural Heritage Management Plan for the new hospital build after not being informed when the remains, which the government says are those of sheep, along with some glass and pottery items, were discovered.

“We really don’t know what they have done,” Mr Agius said. “It’s like drawing blood out of a stone trying to get a copy of what was done.”

Kaurna traditional owner, elder Tim Agius, outside the new Women’s and Children’s Hospital site on Port Rd. Picture” Mark Brake

The plans, which are required for major projects, outline protocols to be followed when discoveries are made on a construction site.

Mr Agius has questioned what forensic testing was done to determine the remains found were animal in lieu of traditional owners being notified.

The build site is regarded as the “most significant” Kaurna cultural location in Adelaide because of its proximity to the River Torrens and a large Kaurna campground, Mr Agius said, meaning extra precautions were required.

“It’s the most significant area across the whole Kaurna footprint,” he said.

An SA Health spokeswoman, on behalf of the new Women’s and Children’s Hospital project managers, said a site archaeologist had confirmed there “have not been any finds that would constitute Aboriginal heritage”.

“All discoveries have been treated in accordance with the approved site discovery protocols,” she said in a statement.

“The site discovery protocol involves referring any animal or human remains, or any items that have suspected Aboriginal or non-Aboriginal cultural heritage value, to our site archaeologist for identification and assessment.

“Should Aboriginal remains or artefacts be identified, the protocols require that Kaurna is consulted about their management.

“Cultural monitoring is employed on a risk-assessed basis.”

But Mr Agius questioned how the discovery could be determined as not constituting Aboriginal heritage without KYAC, the recognised body representing Kaurna people, being consulted.

“We don’t know what assessments (have occurred) and we don’t know which Kaurna people have been engaged because the traditional owners, which is KYAC, have not been engaged in the process recently,” Mr Agius said.

“We would normally be notified if there was a discovery. In this case, they haven’t even told us that.”

Last year, dozens of Aboriginal remains were discovered at the Riverlea housing development in Adelaide’s north, where work has been stopped until a decision is made about the possible repatriation of the bones.

Mr Agius said the handling of the discovery at the Women’s and Children’s site could have serious ramifications for other major state government projects, including the new Adelaide Aquatic Centre at North Adelaide, for which Mr Agius has not sighted a Cultural Heritage Management Plan.

“It seems like the same process was run there,” he said.

The SA Health spokeswoman said Kaurna cultural heritage officers monitored “high heritage-risk” sites during ground disturbing activities and that more than 20 cultural surveys had been undertaken at the hospital site on the Thebarton police barracks.

But Mr Agius said KYAC was not aware of who the archaeologist or heritage officers engaged were.

“They claimed that they had cultural heritage officers present during the initial part of the excavation at site and then when I made some inquiries about it, it was very minimal – not to the extent that it should have been,” he said.

Mr Agius will this week meet with state government officials to highlight his concerns.