Latest news with #AndrySculthorpe
The Guardian
27-03-2025
- General
- The Guardian
‘Spirit will be set free': remains of young Aboriginal man returned to Tasmania after 170 years in UK
After more than 170 years at a Scottish university, the remains of a young Aboriginal man killed on his traditional land have returned home. The skull of the unknown man was taken from Tasmania in the 1830s and had been held by the University of Aberdeen since the early 1850s. It is understood he was part of the Big River tribe and was shot at Shannon river in the island state's Central Highlands. The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre's Andry Sculthorpe and elder Jeanette James arrived in Hobart with the remains on Thursday. They also brought back a shell necklace, made by a woman on a Bass Strait island in the 1880s, from the University of Glasgow's Hunterian Museum. The centre, which had fought for the return of the necklace since 1994, says it is the first overseas return of a Tasmanian cultural item in 27 years. 'This repatriation is a crucial moment for our community,' the centre's Nala Mansell said. 'It acknowledges past injustices and allows us to bring our ancestor home to country, where his spirit will be set free as he is laid to rest in his traditional homelands.' The University of Aberdeen contacted the centre in 2019 and proposed returning the remains. A ceremony was held in Scotland earlier in March to hand over the skull, which had been used for teaching in the 19th and early 20th centuries. 'We are pleased that the remains of this young man can now be handed over ... for appropriate burial in his homeland,' the University of Aberdeen head of collections, Neil Curtis, said. Details of how the university acquired the skull are limited but records suggest it was purchased after 1852 as part of a collection. It was catalogued at the time as 'Native of Van Diemen's Land, who was shot on the Shannon River'. The necklace is 148cm long and features elenchus or maireener shells found off the coast of Tasmania. Requests from the centre for its return were rejected in 1995 and 2002 on the grounds there was no evidence that its acquisition was unethical. The centre has thanked both universities for their co-operation and has flagged the return of other remains and cultural items from UK institutions. 'The (centre) has been repatriating our ancestral remains since the 1970s,' Sculthorpe said. 'The difference now is institutions that previously wouldn't meet with us ... and outright refused to discuss returns are now saying 'let's talk'. 'We feel that is a positive step and the tide is turning.'
The Independent
19-03-2025
- General
- The Independent
Skull of Aboriginal man murdered 200 years ago to be returned to Tasmania
A ceremony to repatriate the skull of a young Tasmanian man which was used for medical education in the 19th and 20th centuries will take place on Friday. The man was shot dead on Tasmania's Shannon River in possibly the 1820s or 1830s, and his head removed 'in order to service (the) trade in Aboriginal body parts'. The only thing known about him is that he was a member of the Big River tribe – one of many tribes that have been completely wiped out and for which there are no surviving descendants. The skull was acquired by William MacGillivray, regius professor of natural history at Marischal College in Aberdeen, and after his death in 1852 it was purchased by the University of Aberdeen. It was kept by the university, initially as part of its comparative anatomy collection and then its human culture collection, where during the 19th and early 20th centuries it was used for medical education. Plans for the repatriation of the remains began when the university contacted the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre (TAC) in 2019, and the return was approved unconditionally by the university's governing body in 2020. The remains will now be taken back to Tasmania where they will be laid to rest in a traditional ceremony conducted by Aboriginal people. It will see Aberdeen become the second Scottish university to return a Tasmanian item this week, following the return of a rare shell necklace by the University of Glasgow on Tuesday. The TAC is recognised by the Australian and international governments as the only appropriate organisation to which repatriated Tasmanian skeletal remains and cultural property are returned. In its formal request for the return of the remains, the TAC was clear about how the remains were first acquired. 'There can be no doubt that this skull was removed from the man shot at the Shannon River in order to service (the) trade in Aboriginal body parts,' it said. 'The decapitation was most likely performed by one of the killers, stock-keepers, property owners or lessees involved in or associated with the man's murder.' Andry Sculthorpe of the TAC explained the importance of repatriating the remains back to Tasmania. 'Aboriginal people feel the enormous responsibility of restoring to our own country both the physical remains, and through them, the spirits of our ancestral dead,' he said. 'This is a record of racist attitudes to the study of humanity, including human remains acquired by grave robbing and other immoral activity; in this case, murder. 'We applaud the institutions that have the courage to let go of their perceptions of intellectual supremacy, embrace their own humanity and do what is right by the people who are most impacted by the atrocities they have inflicted in the past. 'This young man's murder will not be forgotten and we will bring him home to rest at last.' Neil Curtis, head of university collections at the University of Aberdeen said: 'Given the violence and racism that led to their acquisition, it would be unacceptable for these ancestral remains to be used for research, teaching or exhibitions purposes. 'We are pleased that the remains of this young man can now be handed over to the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre for appropriate burial in his homeland.' The university said it has an established procedure for considering repatriation from its collections, and that it welcomes proposals for returning ancestral remains, sacred and other items, particularly when they can be returned to their original communities. It added it is currently reviewing its collections to identify items that were looted or unethically acquired so it can initiate discussions as well as responding to proposals. This has included, it said, the return of a Benin Bronze in 2021, which was the first such return in the world by a museum.
The Independent
19-03-2025
- General
- The Independent
Scottish university returns rare Tasmanian shell necklace
A rare Tasmanian shell necklace that was donated to a Scottish university in the 19th century is returning to its homeland, 30 years after the first request for its repatriation. The 148cm-long necklace is believed to have been made by Aboriginal women on the Bass Strait islands, located between Tasmania and mainland Australia. It features elenchus or maireener shells found off the coast of Tasmania, and comes from a tradition of Tasmanian necklace-making that has continued uninterrupted for thousands of years. The necklace is recorded as having been donated to The Hunterian museum at the University of Glasgow by Mrs Margaret Miller of Launceston during a visit to Scotland in 1877. It is one of a number of necklaces to reach European museums during this period, at least 16 of which still remain in UK collections. During the 19th century, shell necklaces were attractive to collectors as cultural and aesthetic 'first contact' items, and the sale of necklaces became one of the few commercial enterprises available to Aboriginal people on the Bass Strait islands. Tuesday's handover ceremony comes 30 years after the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre (TAC) first requested the item's return. The university refused the initial request in 1995, and then turned down a second request in 2002, saying there was 'no evidence that the acquisition of the Bass Straits necklace was unethical in any way'. However it subsequently agreed to return the necklace, something welcomed by Andry Sculthorpe, a delegate and project manager at the TAC. 'The Hunterian has graciously and with goodwill accepted our claim to our important cultural items,' he said. 'The situation for Tasmanian Aboriginal people since invasion has meant that every cultural piece made by our ancestors is precious and rare and maintains our connection with our culture and identity.' Early examples of shell necklaces are rare and considered a learning resource for present-day makers, and as significant heritage items with links to the past. Jeanette James, an Elder and shell necklace stringer in her community, explained: 'The physical presence of original objects is critical in projects aimed at recovering traditional knowledge to continue practices and rebuild and extend traditional skills.' The sourcing, collecting and stringing of shells is a closely-guarded tradition, passed down through generations of women makers associated with the Bass Strait islands. The intricate and painstaking practice is now acknowledged as a highly skilled and unique Aboriginal art form, though today there are concerns the practice could die out due to a decline in the number of shells due to climate change. Hunterian director Professor Steph Scholten said the decision to repatriate 'set a new precedent'. 'I am glad that we can set a new precedent today: that the University of Glasgow and The Hunterian, amongst a growing number of museums, are open to discussing and acting on repatriation claims,' he said. 'We have come to understand the urgent need for museums in Europe and beyond to address their pasts in equitable ways with originating and diasporic communities.' The repatriation comes alongside the announcement that the remains of an Aboriginal Tasmanian man will be returned by the University of Aberdeen this week.
