Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
ABC News
ABC News
National

Precious First Nations headdress returns to Mornington Island after 50 years overseas

Lardil dancers performing on Mornington Island (Supplied: NWHHS)

For Lardil elder and songman Lawrence Burke, the return of his grandfather's headdress to its home on Kunhanhaa (Mornington Island) after more than 50 years in the United Kingdom, signifies hope for the future.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains images, voices and names of people who have died.

"Back in the missionary days, so much was taken from our people," he says.

"We lost many artefacts like boomerangs, spears, paintings, rocks.

"All of these are important because it's how we teach the younger ones. It's how we tell our stories, and that's how we keep our culture alive."

The returning of the piece marks a stride towards bringing home even more culturally significant items.

"We are excited the headdress is home. There is more hope for the future now. We want to keep working with different organisations to return more of these artefacts to their country," Mr Burke says.

Lardil dancers performed at the opening of the Sydney Opera House in 1973. (Supplied: Alex Ozolins)

In 1973, Mr Burke's late grandfather Philip Jack performed with the headdress at the opening of the Sydney Opera House.

Mr Jack gifted the headdress as a gesture of friendship to his neighbour Maurice Routhan, who was leaving for the UK.

In recent years Mr Routhan sought to return the headdress, and with the help of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), it was brought home in January 2020.

However, due to COVID-19 complications, the headdress was only handed back to Mr Burke and the Lardil people this week.

Preserving culture

A member of the Mornington Island Dancers wears a traditional headdress during a performance in Burketown. (Supplied: Mirndiyan Gununa, Mornington Island Art Centre)

Mr Jack was a respected songman and teacher among the Lardil people.

"The headdress is important to me because when I was growing up, the old fella was a great cultural teacher," Mr Burke says.

Crafted from paperbark, human hair and emu feathers, the shape of the headdress symbolises the rainbow serpent.

"It is worn to represent a boy transitioning into manhood. It is also used to show what totem clan you're from and it's really important for ceremonies and corroborees.

The road to recovery

While the return of the headdress was celebrated by Mr Burke, there remain hundreds of thousands of culturally important items lost to Indigenous groups around the country.

The Lardil headdress has been returned to its home on Mornington Island. (Supplied: Susan Gervay)

"The biggest problem on Mornington now is in regards to a story place where a rock was taken. The rock is a Dreamtime story about two young boys," Mr Burke says.

"It was taken from its place during WWII. I would like to get that back."

AIATSIS chief executive Craig Ritchie said First Nations people had been lobbying for the return of their culturally significant items and ancestral remains since "at least the 1970s".

And things are changing.

"The attitudes of private collector institutions overseas are shifting," Mr Ritchie says.

"The response we've had over the past couple of years has been really overwhelming."

A Lardil dancer wears a headdress while dancing at the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair. (Supplied: Cairns Indigenous Art Fair)

AIATSIS has identified more than 110,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander objects in overseas collections.

Meanwhile, about 300 collecting institutions are holding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander material.

"About 65 of those are eager to work with us for the return of material," Mr Ritchie says.

"I urge anyone who wishes to return Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artefacts to contact AIATSIS. Be assured that it will be a significant gesture and that the artefact will be treated with great respect and care."

Lardil dancers perform at the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair wearing traditional headdresses. (Supplied: Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair, Dylan Buckee)
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.