Ancient Aboriginal bones apparently ’dropped off in brown paper bags’ by Tas authorities

“I’ve never heard of anything so terrible before.” Fury has erupted after ancient Tasmanian Aboriginal bones were apparently “dropped off” in brown paper bags at a Hobart office.

The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre offices in Elizabeth Street, Hobart. Picture: Google Maps

Fury has erupted after ancient Tasmanian Aboriginal bones were apparently “dropped off” in brown paper bags at a Hobart reception desk last Friday.

Tasmanian Aboriginal leader Nala Mansell, who previously lashed authorities for their management of recently-discovered remains, said the way those remains were returned has now left her shocked.

“I’ve never heard of anything so terrible before,” she told the Mercury.

“It’s absolutely disgusting.

“I’m just not sure how you could possibly do anything worse than what they’ve done.”

The bones – a femur located by a member of the public at Carlton Beach in 2022, plus two femurs and a radius bone located by a fisherman at the Shank in 2016 – were apparently dropped off at the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre (TAC) reception desk on Friday by a member of the Coronial Division.

Ms Mansell said neither she nor anyone else at the TAC was contacted beforehand – and their requests to the Coronial Division for assistance in repatriating the remains to their homelands had simply been ignored.

An Aboriginal thigh bone dating back to between 772 to 991AD was discovered by a member of the public at Carlton Beach in 2022. Picture: Luke Bowden

She said if anyone else were to have their family member’s bones dropped off at their office in such a way, “there would be an uproar”.

“I can’t imagine any family who would think it’s okay to have the remains of a human being dropped off at reception in a brown paper bag,” she said.

“Apparently if they’re a black human being in this state, the rules are completely different.”

Ms Mansell also said neither she nor the TAC had been contacted over the 2022 Carlton Beach discovery, which was the subject of a public coronial report over the past few days.

Instead, she found out about the discovery via a social media post over the weekend.

“Once again when it comes to Aboriginal remains in this state … it’s a free-for-all,” she said.

Ms Mansell said she had contacted the Coronial Division weeks ago, asking to meet to discuss a way going forward in the future for similar cases, but “we’ve heard nothing back”.

She said she also contacted Attorney-General Guy Barnett on April 29 to ask for an investigation into the matter, as well as a request to meet urgently – but had also heard nothing back.

“For a people who have had to deal with repatriating our remains from different museums and institutions across the world, having to deal with the remains of our ancestors in cardboard boxes, it’s just a tragedy that we continue to be shut out of the process. The remains of our ancestors are disrespected as they’ve always been,” she said.

“It’s giving Aboriginal people no rights or entitlements to make decisions over the bodies of our dead.

“We know we come from the land and we go back into the land. We know that the spirits of our old people can’t be laid to rest until they are in their traditional homelands.”

The Coronial Division told the Mercury it was unable to comment on the matter.

The Mercury has also contacted Mr Barnett for comment.

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