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AAP
AAP
Politics
Tim Dornin

Kaurna remains to be returned to country

Kaurna Aboriginal ancestral remains will be returned to country at a memorial park in Adelaide. (AAP)

The first Kaurna Aboriginal ancestral remains held by the South Australian Museum will be put to rest at a special memorial park in Adelaide's north.

The reburial on Tuesday will return the remains to country so they can be "remembered and protected in perpetuity".

It is part of a pilot project between the Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation, the SA Museum, Adelaide Cemeteries and the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

"Our ancestors laid in a dark room, boxed, and it is only now that we begin to understand and address yesterday," Kaurna Yereta Chairman Jeffrey Newchurch said.

"As Smithfield becomes a reality, we can begin to re-land and rest those of our old peoples so we can heal together."

The SA government provided $300,000 for the design and construction of the Kaurna Wangayarta Memorial Park, with Adelaide Cemeteries dedicating two hectares for Kaurna reburials.

"I am very proud that we are today able to lay to rest respectfully and with dignity the remains of Kaurna ancestors that were previously held away from the country that means so much to their people and culture," Premier Steven Marshall said in a statement.

"This world-leading pilot is the first phase of an outstanding project that will have a profound effect on the lives of many, many people."

Support for Kaurna-led archival research was provided by the University of Adelaide and the federal government, which also supported the reburial preparations.

The South Australian Museum is the custodian of about 4500 Aboriginal ancestral remains and is actively working with Aboriginal communities all over Australia to return them to country in community-led, respectful ways.

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