Central Land Council

OBJECT RETURNED AFTER 25 YEARS

An important ceremonial object, removed from the Tanami some 25 years ago, has been returned to the Warlpiri traditional custodians. The return of the object was warmly welcomed by Central land Council Chairman, Mr Rex Japanangka Granites. "The return of these objects to our people just can't be overestimated. They are very much a part of our culture, our law. It is really very good news that these sacred objects are starting to come back." The object was removed from its keeping place at a site west of the remote community of Yuendumu in the Tanami desert by non-Aboriginal people doing seismic work in the region who were unaware of its significance.

It was returned by Mr Bob Niedorfer who had had the object in his possession since 1970. Mr Niedorfer came to Alice Springs to return the object and to meet the custodians who also made a special trip to Alice. Mr Niedorfer originally took the artefact as a "good souvenir" of his time in central Australia, and it wasn't until making contact with the South Australia Museum earlier this year that he realised the exact nature of his momento. He said that although he originally took the object in ignorance, he now views his action as stealing.

"I was talking to Aboriginal people around different parts of the country, who said it should be returned, and that stuck in my mind."

"It was quite common amongst the seismic crews. Quite a few lads on the crew collected whatever they could."

"At the time I thought it was a good find, but when I look back at it now, I started to feel guilty about the whole situation of stealing an item," Mr Niedorfer said.

However, the traditional custodians bore Mr Niedorfer no ill-will and were pleased to meet him and talk about his working days on their traditional land.

"I am happy that the object was returned back to its own home area and I'm happy that the object will be returned back to its traditional owners and its own country," said Sammy Johnson, translating on behalf of custodians.

Mr Granites said he hoped many other people who had such items in private collections would come forward to return them. "I think non-Aboriginal people are starting to see how much it means to us to have these items returned, and more and more people are doing the right thing and sending them back.

"Many of these objects come from our region here in central Australia. People should realise that this is a living culture and the culture is still strong. Even if the object went away a long time ago, the present-day custodians are still there and can usually be located quite easily to find out their wishes." Literally thousands of such objects have been removed from central Australia over the last century.

Some were stolen, others traded in desperate times for rations, others entrusted to non-Aboriginal people for safe-keeping. Many are now housed in museums, not only in Australia, but overseas, and some objects are still being auctioned. Mr Granites urged anyone who had objects in their possession to contact the CLC.