Latest news with #WilliamMacGillivray
CNN
29-03-2025
- General
- CNN
Remains of murdered Australian Aboriginal man repatriated by British university
The skull of an Aboriginal man who is thought to have been killed by colonizers in the early 19th century has been returned for burial in Tasmania from a British university. The remains of the unidentified young man will be laid to rest in a ceremonial burial on the Australian island on Friday, the University of Aberdeen said in a statement published Wednesday. The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, which will hold the long-delayed burial, was first contacted by the Scottish university in 2019 with a proposal for repatriation. This was approved the following year. Details of how the university came to be in possession of the skull – which is missing its lower jaw – are limited, the university said. What is known is that it was part of the collection of William MacGillivray, professor of natural history at Marischal College, a forerunner of the modern Aberdeen University. When MacGillivray died in 1852, the university bought his collection. The sale catalog from that purchase described the remains as belonging to a 'native of Van Diemen's Land, who was shot on the Shannon River.' Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name for Tasmania. There is no surviving record to explain how the skull was acquired. It was initially kept in the university's comparative anatomy collection before being transferred to its human culture collection in the early 2000s. Back in the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was used to teach medicine. According to the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, which is quoted in the university statement, there is '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 went on to say of the killing, which probably took place in the 1820s or 1830s: '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.' While the man's identity is unlikely to ever be established, the statement said, he is known to have been part of the Big River tribe, which was completely wiped out. Andry Sculthorpe, of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, stressed the importance of repatriation. He said: '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. '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.' The University of Aberdeen said it has 'a well-established procedure for considering repatriation from the collections in its care' and previous returns have included a Benin bronze, returned to Nigeria in 2021. Neil Curtis, the university's head of museums and special collections, 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.'
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Yahoo
Uni hands back murdered Aboriginal man's remains
The University of Aberdeen has repatriated a murdered Aboriginal man's remains, thought to have been obtained during a colonial conquest in Tasmania. It is believed the young man was decapitated near the Shannon River on the island in the 1820s or 1830s - a time in Australia's history when colonisers used bounties to fuel a trade in tribespeople's body parts. The university contacted the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre in 2019 following pressure on institutions to return exhibits linked with Britain's colonial past. The remains, held at the university since the 1850s, were handed back on Friday, to be taken to Tasmania and laid to rest in a traditional ceremony conducted by Aboriginal people. In 2019, the University of Glasgow agreed to raise and spend £20m in reparations after discovering it benefited by millions of pounds from the slave trade. It was believed to be the first institution in the UK to implement such a "programme of restorative justice". Victorian traded Aboriginal remains for accolades Aboriginal spears to be returned to Australia University's 'bold' move to pay back slave profits The university said details on how the remains were acquired were limited, with records listing only that it was part of the collection of William MacGillivray - a natural history professor. After his death in 1852, the collection was purchased by the university. The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, which includes cultural services in its remit, believes the remains were from a man killed in order to service the trade in Aboriginal body parts. It is thought unlikely that the identity of the man will ever be known beyond that of his tribal group. The return of the remains was approved by the university's governing court. Neil Curtis, head of 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." Andry Sculthorpe of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre said Aboriginal people felt an "enormous responsibility" of returning remains to their homeland. "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," he said. "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," he added. The gesture sees 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 19th century 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. It was donated to the Hunterian museum at the University of Glasgow by Mrs Margaret Miller of Launceston, during a visit to Scotland in 1877. The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre first requested the item's return in 1995. Hunterian director Professor Steph Scholten said the decision to repatriate "set a new precedent".
CNN
19-03-2025
- General
- CNN
Remains of murdered Australian Aboriginal man repatriated by British university
The skull of an Aboriginal man who is thought to have been killed by colonizers in the early 19th century has been returned for burial in Tasmania from a British university. The remains of the unidentified young man will be laid to rest in a ceremonial burial on the Australian island on Friday, the University of Aberdeen said in a statement published Wednesday. The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, which will hold the long-delayed burial, was first contacted by the Scottish university in 2019 with a proposal for repatriation. This was approved the following year. Details of how the university came to be in possession of the skull – which is missing its lower jaw – are limited, the university said. What is known is that it was part of the collection of William MacGillivray, professor of natural history at Marischal College, a forerunner of the modern Aberdeen University. When MacGillivray died in 1852, the university bought his collection. The sale catalog from that purchase described the remains as belonging to a 'native of Van Diemen's Land, who was shot on the Shannon River.' Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name for Tasmania. There is no surviving record to explain how the skull was acquired. It was initially kept in the university's comparative anatomy collection before being transferred to its human culture collection in the early 2000s. Back in the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was used to teach medicine. According to the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, which is quoted in the university statement, there is '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 went on to say of the killing, which probably took place in the 1820s or 1830s: '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.' While the man's identity is unlikely to ever be established, the statement said, he is known to have been part of the Big River tribe, which was completely wiped out. Andry Sculthorpe, of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, stressed the importance of repatriation. He said: '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. '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.' The University of Aberdeen said it has 'a well-established procedure for considering repatriation from the collections in its care' and previous returns have included a Benin bronze, returned to Nigeria in 2021. Neil Curtis, the university's head of museums and special collections, 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 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.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Remains of murdered Australian Aboriginal man repatriated by British university
The skull of an Aboriginal man who is thought to have been killed by colonizers in the early 19th century has been returned for burial in Tasmania from a British university. The remains of the unidentified young man will be laid to rest in a ceremonial burial on the Australian island on Friday, the University of Aberdeen said in a statement published Wednesday. The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, which will hold the long-delayed burial, was first contacted by the Scottish university in 2019 with a proposal for repatriation. This was approved the following year. Details of how the university came to be in possession of the skull – which is missing its lower jaw – are limited, the university said. What is known is that it was part of the collection of William MacGillivray, professor of natural history at Marischal College, a forerunner of the modern Aberdeen University. When MacGillivray died in 1852, the university bought his collection. The sale catalog from that purchase described the remains as belonging to a 'native of Van Diemen's Land, who was shot on the Shannon River.' Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name for Tasmania. There is no surviving record to explain how the skull was acquired. It was initially kept in the university's comparative anatomy collection before being transferred to its human culture collection in the early 2000s. Back in the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was used to teach medicine. According to the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, which is quoted in the university statement, there is '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 went on to say of the killing, which probably took place in the 1820s or 1830s: '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.' While the man's identity is unlikely to ever be established, the statement said, he is known to have been part of the Big River tribe, which was completely wiped out. Andry Sculthorpe, of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, stressed the importance of repatriation. He said: '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. '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.' The University of Aberdeen said it has 'a well-established procedure for considering repatriation from the collections in its care' and previous returns have included a Benin bronze, returned to Nigeria in 2021. Neil Curtis, the university's head of museums and special collections, 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.'
