It's the culmination of a long campaign by the islanders to have the remains of their ancestors returned to be buried properly.
The remains of 19 Torres Strait Islanders after more than a century away from their homeland have been handed back to their descendants by Britain's Natural History Museum.
Torres Strait Island Repatriation Working Group Chairman Ned David says it marks a day which will be remembered for some time.
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“We are a delegation of ambassadors representing our people in the Torres Strait, we are taking back our ancestors that have been away from home for over 100 years,” he said.
The remains were first brought to Europe by explorers and collectors in the 19th century. They were taken to the museum for scientific research.
National History Museum Science Director, Ian Owens says the remains are of significant importance.
"These kind of remains scientists are interested in the evolution of culture in human population, so far places like the Torres Strait, which is culturally very interesting, people are interested in where did those people come from, how long have they been there and so on,” he said,
As far back as the 1960's the Torres Strait Island community was aware that the remains of their ancestors were housed at museums around the world.
But it was only recent financial support that allowed them to open the dialogue with institutions like the Natural History Museum.
The conflict between science and culture has made it difficult to repatriate remains in the past.
Mr David said that finally a delicate balance has been achieved.
"These remains are of our people, and we believe we are the rightful owners I guess and the rightful place for them is with us. I take my hat off to the natural history museum for respecting that and acknowledging that,” he said.
Ian Owens said the remains deliver a much deeper understanding culture when it comes to studying science.
“You shouldn't do science in a vacuum, that you have to find a balance with the rest of the world, and we're hopeful that even from a scientific perspective you can do much better science this way, if you can get proper communication and so on,” he said.
However, repatriations remain a controversial subject. Some critics claim that they are simply a political act, an attempt to apologise for colonisation.
There are still more Torres Strait Island remains at the Natural History Museum and the two parties have exchanged letters entrusting the museum with their care until the communities decide on their future.
