Kaurna Ancestors reburied at Wangayarta

On Tuesday the 13th of December, members of the Kaurna community and supporters gathered at Wangayarta, the Kaurna memorial at Smithfield Memorial Park, to lay ancestors to rest in a community-led reburial. Following historic reburials in December 2021 and June 2022, last week’s ceremony reburied ancestors who were disturbed from burial sites in Norwood, St Peters, Walkerville, Campbelltown and other areas of eastern Adelaide in the late 1800s and into the 20th century. Many of these ancestors had been in the care of the South Australian Museum for nearly a century. Wangayarta is a collaboration between Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation (KYAC), South Australian Museum, Adelaide Cemeteries and Department of Premier and Cabinet Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, to address the historical legacy of Kaurna ancestors in the custodianship of museums and universities. This is a model pioneered by Kaurna, which the South Australian Museum is now exploring with other Aboriginal communities. The eastern mound was prepared for Ancestors during Wangayarta’s co-design process. During construction, Uncle Moogy Sumner spread soils from all over Kaurna Country across the area as a way of allowing all ancestors to be buried in the soil of their Country. The podcast, available via the link in our bio, contains on-site interviews and recordings of speeches taken from the day of repatriation at Wangayarta.