Compromise delivers peace for Mungo Man and his Lady

The reburial of ancient remains that reshaped the world’s understanding of human history will go ahead under a compromise plan to be unveiled on Wednesday.

The skeleton of Mungo Man.

The reburial of ancient remains that reshaped the world’s understanding of human history will go ahead under a compromise plan to be unveiled on Wednesday.

The skeletal remains of Mungo Man and Mungo Lady will be ­returned to earth in the Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area in accordance with the ­wishes of a majority of local traditional owners, but will now be buried in a way that should help ensure they are not lost forever.

The discovery of the well-preserved remains of Mungo Lady in 1968 and Mungo Man six years later captured global attention and paved the way for Willandra Lakes to be declared a World Heritage Area. The remains of the pair, who lived near Willandra Lakes at the height of the last Ice Age when megafauna still roamed the continent, are of some of the oldest homo sapiens unearthed.

But the ultimate plan for the ­remains has been the subject of ongoing and at-times divisive ­debate among and between Indigenous groups from the Willandra Lakes region, as well as between scientists and anthropologists.

The new decision by federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley follows a formal assessment of the NSW government’s proposal to rebury the remains of Mungo Man and Mungo Lady – along with skeletal fragments from 106 other individuals previously recovered from the area – in unmarked graves. The remains were originally due to be reburied late last year, before Ms Ley’s intervention.

The minister has now determined that the reburial in unmarked graves can go ahead, ­although the remains will be buried in locations and at depths that will minimise decay and allow for them to be recovered for future study if decided by Indigenous representatives.

The locations of the burials will not be available publicly, but records of the sites will be maintained by government agencies and the Aboriginal Advisory Group that helped determine the plan. The original burial plans, which provoked an outcry from scientists and some members of the Indigenous community, would have seen the remains buried in unknown locations and in areas of higher erosion.

Under the new plan, the burial sites will also be subject to ongoing monitoring to address concerns in the Aboriginal community about the potential for grave robbers.

There have long been calls from some Indigenous leaders for the remains to be interred in a specially designed underground “keeping place”, but consultations in recent months are understood to have shown an overwhelming majority of support for reburial.

Ms Ley, whose electorate of Farrer takes in the Willandra Lakes region, spent time at the site last month discussing the plans with traditional owners.

In a statement, Ms Ley said that while it was important to document the history of the remains, it was equally important to respect the cultural intent of the burial process and the “heartfelt views” of the descendants.

“The reburial process will be managed in such a way as to minimise any natural decay,” she said.

“The conditions I have ­imposed provide for their security and safekeeping during and after reburial.

“Mungo Man and Mungo Lady will soon be home at the end of this long, long road. And their spirits can rest.”