One of the largest reburials of Indigenous remains in the nation's history has taken place in Western Australia today.
The remains of 23 people have been returned to the ground in the coastal city of Bunbury, south of Perth. They were unearthed in the 1970s during construction work, then kept in the Museum of Western Australia.
Nyoongar elders had lobbied for years to have them returned. Now their resting place will become a memorial park.
Noongar Elder Dennis Jetta says the reburial will be remembered for generations to come.
"In years to come your grandchildren will be talking about this, you know, and they certainly will be because it's a great event, something we've never seen in WA or the south-west at all before," he said.
The remains were wrapped in bark, tied with grass and buried by hand. When the graves were filled in, spears marked the male resting places and digging sticks the female.
"It's a feeling of relaxation for me, you know, because we've come now to this stage, we've done what we intended to do for many, many years," Mr Jetta said.
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