The New South Wales government says it did not authorise or conduct the reburial of Mungo Man and Mungo Lady and the reburial of the ancient human remains was the result of “a dispute within Aboriginal communities”.
The 42,000-year-old remains, which are some of the oldest human remains found outside of Africa, were reburied last week despite some traditional owners making an application for emergency protection under federal Aboriginal heritage laws.
A spokesperson from Heritage NSW, which had custody of the remains, said the state government “did not authorise, conduct, or endorse the removal and subsequent burial of any remains on 24 May”.
The spokesperson added that an “external investigation is now under way into the removal of Mungo Man and Mungo Lady’s remains and their reburial”.
Mungo Lady was discovered in 1968 by the geologist Jim Bowler and is estimated to be 42,000 years old – the oldest human remains discovered in Australia. Mungo Man was discovered five years later.
The remains were returned to country in 1992 and 2017 respectively, in the custody of Heritage NSW. They are under the custodianship of the Barkindji, Mutthi Mutthi and Ngiyampaa peoples but since 2019 there has been a split among traditional custodians about a plan to rebury the remains.
The Willandra Lakes region Aboriginal advisory group, which is the formal advisory body for the world heritage area, supported a plan to rebury the remains and those of 106 other ancient peoples in anonymous graves. Other traditional owners oppose the plan in favour of a keeping place which would protect the remains for future generations.
The reburial had been approved by the Morrison government and was slated to go ahead last week but was stayed due to the application under the federal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act. That application was made on behalf of a group of Barkindji, Mutthi Mutthi and Ngiyampaa elders.
“This is a sensitive matter which appears to involve a dispute within Aboriginal communities, and the NSW government is seeking to address the issues in a manner that recognises and respects the different views,” a spokesperson for Heritage NSW said.
Heritage NSW said it had increased security on the remains of the other 106 ancestors.
