National Guide for ATSI Communities to Identify and Protect Unmarked Graves and Cemeteries

Indigenous Advancement Strategy Funding

We are proud to share the National Guide for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities to Identify and Protect Unmarked Graves and Cemeteries for communities around Australia.

 

Elders and rangers from Mapoon, Queensland, discussing their memories of the locations of the burial places of their family and ancestors (Source: M.Sutton).
Magnetometry survey of a burial mound in Mapoon, Queensland (Source: E. St Pierre).

The guide aims to provide clear and practical advice to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia to identify and protect the unmarked graves and burial sites of their ancestors.

The importance of Indigenous leadership, knowledge and history is at the forefront of the information shared in this publication to ensure the guide could support communities in their journey to protect and honour their ancestors in their final resting places on Country. 

The publication also featured art by Chris Wajung Gray, a proud Goori Man from Bundjalung Nation. Our team was privileged to collaborate with the Tweed-Byron Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC) and the Mapoon Aboriginal community to develop the guide. 

Ground-penetrating radar system, this one is a GSSI SIR-3000 system with 400 MHz antennas mounted on the “baby jogger” cart being used at Coraki Cemetery, on Bandjalang country, NSW (Source: Virtus Heritage).
At Baryulgil Aboriginal Cemetery NSW multiple GPR grids were established to avoid the surface gravestones, fences and ornaments, typical of historic cemeteries (Source: E. St Pierre).

You can download a copy of the guide on our Resources page here.

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