Aboriginal warrior killed in 1833 reburied in Australia after skull returned from England
By APSaturday, July 10, 2010
Tribe reburies Aboriginal warrior killed in 1800s
PERTH, Australia — The remains of 19th-century Aboriginal warrior Yagan have been laid to rest in western Australia, nearly 180 years after he was killed and his severed head was displayed in a British museum.
The private ceremony held Saturday by the Noongar tribe coincided with the opening of the Yagan Memorial Park in Swan Valley, just outside of Perth.
“The Yagan Memorial Park is a fitting tribute to the life, struggles and death of Yagan and to the memory of all Aboriginal people who suffered and died in support of their land, culture and heritage,” West Australian Premier Colin Barnett said in a statement.
Yagan was shot by a European settler in 1833. His body was believed to be buried in Swan Valley but his head was taken to England, where it sat in a museum for a century before being buried in an English cemetery.
After years of petitions by the Aboriginal community, Yagan’s head was exhumed and returned to Australia in 1997.
Yagan Reburial Committee chairman Richard Wilkes said it had been a long process to reunite the warrior’s remains. The exact location of Yagan’s body isn’t known.
“We are all proud that Yagan will be buried with dignity,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Saturday.
