After decades in storage, 33 culturally significant objects were today returned to representatives from the Larrakia community at a ceremony at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery in the United Kingdom.
The items consisted of spears and various ceremonial objects taken from the Larrakia people, with the earliest dating back to 1881.
Two Larrakia representatives were in attendance for the ceremony in Bristol, Nigel Browne, a descendant of the Larrakia and Wulna peoples, and Mikayla Lee, a proud Gulumerridjin (Larrakia), Wardaman and Karrajarri woman.
“This is the end of a four-year journey," Mr Browne told The Guardian.
"To see the return of these cultural objects that were taken from Larrakia is very significant. They are the tools of our trade as ancient huntsmen, fishermen. They have been gone a long time.
“They’ll be used not only to admire back home, but also teach a new generation of Larrakia how to craft spears that our ancestors were very adept at making.
"It’s not just about the past here. It’s about the future, teaching the next generation about their heritage.”
Ms Lee described the handover ceremony as "a very special moment."
While 10 of the spears' acquisition and collecting history is unknown, the objects were all donated to the Bristol Museum throughout the late 19th and early 20th century.
A spear and club were donated in 1881, five spears were donated by a London boarding school in 1934, and in 1939 a collection of spears and spear throwers were donated by a relative of a British botanist who had "acquired" them while working at the Darwin Botanical Gardens.
Larrakia representatives, Nigel Browne and Mikayla Lee attended the return ceremony at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery in the UK. Source: Supplied / ©Bristol Design, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery
The return was facilitated by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) as part of its Return of Cultural Heritage program.
AIATSIS CEO, Leonard Hill said the return of the objects was a profound act of recognition and respect.
"It reflects our shared commitment to truth-telling and to restoring cultural authority to First Nations communities," Mr Hill said.
"These objects belong with their people, on their Country, where they can once again contribute to cultural life and intergenerational knowledge."
Nigel Browne with some of the objects at the return ceremony. Source: Supplied / ©Bristol Design, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery
Bill Risk, a Senior Larrakia man said he was grateful to the museum for holding onto the spears and now his mob get to reconnect with these special objects.
"We [Larrakia People] get to see something and have a close feeling with that object, [when repatriated] and know that their Old People’s sweat was there, you know," he said.
"It's a personal insight feeling when you're sitting there with something close from your own people from your history."
