More than 1300 human remains now exhumed at Hutchins School building site

More than 1300 human remains have now been exhumed at a sporting field owned by the Hutchins School, with most of the bodies identified. What will happen next >>

More than 1300 human remains have now been found at a construction site at the Hutchins School. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

More than 1300 human remains have now been exhumed at a sporting field owned by the Hutchins School.

The prestigious Hobart boys’ school announced back in April that contractors had uncovered two historic graves and bodies at the building site of its new auditorium and sports centre, where existing sports fields are located.

But in a letter to parents on Monday, school principal Rob McEwan gave an update, saying that as of July 16, 1331 human remains had now been exhumed.

The school, which has a history dating back to the mid-1800s, moved from the Hobart CBD to Sandy Bay in the 20th century, to the former Queenborough Cemetery site.

Queenborough Memorial Reserve, near the school site. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Dr McEwan previously stated it had been believed all gravesites were exhumed and moved to the Cornelian Bay Cemetery as of 1961, but it was now clear that was not the case.

In his letter this week, Dr McEwan said an archaeological team began work on the site on April 2, with the exhumation process now 70 per cent complete.

“While it was known that approximately 1900 exhumations had occurred prior to 1961 when the school acquired the former Queenborough Cemetery land, it has now become clear very few of the previous exhumations had occurred on the site of the current building works,” he said.

Dr McEwan said 80 per cent of the remains had been identified thanks to analysis of historical documents, including the burial register, and various cemetery and government archival records.

“All remains have been individually boxed with identification plates attached where identification has been possible,” he said.

The Hutchins’ School sporting field, where the new auditorium and sports centre will be built.

The school principal said when the exhumation process concluded, which was expected by September, all remains would be reinterred at Cornelian Bay.

He also said public notice would be given, including the names of the people identified, the original location they were buried in, and the place of their reinterment at Cornelian Bay Cemetery.

Dr McEwan also said a permanent memorial would be erected at Cornelian Bay, and pending council approval, an additional memorial plaque at the Queenborough Memorial Garden on Peel Street, Sandy Bay.

“All measures have been taken to ensure all remains are treated with utmost respect and dignity and compliance with all government conditions have been met,” he said.

The Queenborough Cemetery opened in 1873 and closed in 1934, with more than 3000 people buried between Sandy Bay Road, Churchill Ave and Nelson Road.

The council-owned Queenborough Oval now sits on the site, along with Hutchins and its sporting grounds.

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