Australian Embassy Berlin
Media release - 26 April 2013
Australian Ancestral Remains to be returned from Berlin
A delegation of representatives from Indigenous peoples in Australia is on a visit to Berlin this week to collect a number of ancestral remains from the Charité.
The Australian Government’s Parliamentary Secretary for the Arts, The Hon. Mr Michael Danby MP, and officials from the Office of the Arts have also come to Berlin for this occasion.
The remains held by the Charité were originally taken from Australia in the late 19th and early 20th century and have been held in the collections of German institutions since.
Under a global program of seeking the repatriation of Australian Indigenous ancestral remains from international collections, the Australian Government is supporting local communities in their approach to institutions holding such collections.
Following a Memorandum of Understanding on the intended return of remains signed in November 2008, Berlin’s Charité closely worked with Australian partners on identifying the provenance of the individual remains held in its archives and on arrangements for the repatriation process.
Representatives from Indigenous peoples have now in a private ceremony paid their respect to the remains of their forebears and will be accompanying them back to Australia.