Ngarrindjeri Old People were disturbed from their traditional burial sites since early colonial time by farming, development, winds, floods and many were deliberately dug up and traded by the Adelaide Museum, and other museums and institutions. Bringing the Old People home has been a long and hard journey for Ngarrindjeri.

In February 2024, the Ngarrindjeri Aboriginal Corporation Annual General Meeting voted to establish an area of the Raukkan Cemetery as a resting place for repatriated Ngarrindjeri Old People. The Raukkan Community Council agreed that this process would be community-led and transparent.

The Corporation and Council reached out to the South Australian Museum to collaborate and we have been working together on this important and sensitive project.

Governance

In mid-2024, the Ngarrindjeri Raukkan Resting Place Reference Group was established comprising representatives of the Ngarrindjeri Aboriginal Corporation, Raukkan Community Council, Ngarrindjeri Ruwe Empowered Communities, Ngarrindjeri Lands and Progress Association, Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority, Aboriginal Lands Trust, Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, and the University of Adelaide. The Group has encouraged participation of the Ngarrindjeri community more broadly to establish Putheri Tump-ald Palun.

Read the Ngarrindjeri Raukkan Resting Place Reference Group Terms of Reference.

Photo – Reference Group members on site in August 2024 - Chantel Weetra, Chyanne Shaw, Shakira Sumner, Uncle Russel Milera, Uncle Moogy Sumner, Uncle Clyde Rigney, Natasha Sumner, Anna Russo, Janice Rigney, Ali Abdullah-Highfold.