Kaurna Artefacts

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (14:38): My question is to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs regarding the AIATSIS return of Kaurna artefacts. Will the minister inform the council on the recent return of Kaurna artefacts from Germany?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:38): I thank the honourable member for his question and his interest and would be most pleased to provide an update. I recently had the privilege to be present for the hand back ceremony for four Kaurna cultural items that were taken to Germany by missionaries way back in 1840, getting on to 200 years ago.

Thanks to the collaborative efforts between Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation, the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), the Grassi Museum in Leipzig and the German government, we have seen an acknowledgement of the important cultural heritage and an effort of reconciliation between the peoples of two nations.

The return of these cultural artefacts—the kathawirri (a sword), tantanaku (a club or bark peeler), wirnta (a spear) and wikatyi (a net)—holds immense significance for many local Kaurna people. As told by the Kaurna elders present at the hand back recently, these items are not merely objects, they represent ancestral knowledge, stories and connections to land. The items were integral to the daily lives, ceremonies and traditions of the Kaurna people, representing tools for hunting, protection, crafting and sustenance.

The event was attended by many Kaurna community members and elders, as well as the federal foreign affairs minister, Senator Penny Wong; the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney; the Australian Ambassador for First Nations People, Justin Mohamed; and the Chief Executive of AIATSIS, Leonard Hill. It was also pleasing to have Germany's federal minister for foreign affairs, Annalena Baerbock, present to speak at the historic hand back ceremony.

Given the German missionaries' long history with Aboriginal people, this signified the importance of the initial steps and sincerity of the German government in their endeavour for reconciliation with Aboriginal people in this country. During her speech, Minister Baerbock stated that it was crucial for Germany to acknowledge its colonial past and to return these culturally significant items to Australia, more specifically to Kaurna people. She emphasised the importance of being open and reflective about history, stating that sharing painful aspects of the past is essential for building a better future together.

It was also a privilege on the day to hear from Mitzi Nam, the chair of Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation, Linda Burney and Penny Wong, and also Leonard Hill from AIATSIS, but particularly to hear from Uncle Lewis O'Brien. Uncle Lewis O'Brien highlighted that Pirltawardli (Possum Park), which is on the northern banks of the Torrens near the weir, was the location where the ceremony took place recently but was also the exact location from where the cultural items were removed to Germany 184 years ago.

It was particularly important to have Uncle Lewis O'Brien, as a very senior Kaurna man and custodian of culture, at the ceremony. Uncle Lewis is now 94 years old, which means he has, as a Kaurna man, been here for more than three-quarters of the time the state of South Australia has been in existence and, in fact, exactly half the time since the colony that preceded it was established in 1836. It is quite remarkable to have a senior Kaurna man who has been here on Kaurna country for half the time since this colony was established.

It was a special event, and I would like to congratulate all parties involved in returning these items to their rightful owners. However, I along with others here today, also recognise that this is only a step in a much longer journey for the returning of many cultural items which are held in institutions all around the world as trinkets and spoils of colonisation and need to be returned to the people who own them.