The remains of at least 27 Aboriginal people found during construction of a housing development north of Adelaide will be relocated and buried nearby. The Kaurna native title body has agreed to the plan but the move has divided opinion in the community.
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00:00 It's sold as one of the state's largest housing developments, but the discovery of
00:06 two mass Aboriginal burial sites at Riverlea north of Adelaide has halted construction
00:11 on parts of the project since July.
00:14 Now the native title body, the Kaurna Yurta Corporation, says the remains will be reburied.
00:20 There will be a site found where they will be re-interred and as close as possible to
00:28 their original burial site.
00:31 At least 27 people's remains have been found.
00:35 Tim Ages says it's possible there could be more.
00:39 Riverlea's become a very significant site.
00:42 It's a very significant camping site, it's a significant burial site.
00:48 On Saturday a protest was held at Riverlea condemning the way the remains have been treated.
00:53 Natasha Wanganeen addressed the crowd and doesn't back the reburial plan.
00:58 We want them to be left alone.
01:00 The more you keep digging up our bones, the more you keep disrupting our songlines and
01:05 our culture.
01:06 We're not playing musical bones with our elders and ancestors.
01:10 That's been the practice for the last 30 to 40 years.
01:13 That decision, I have to say, was made by the elders.
01:17 It will fall to Aboriginal Affairs Minister Kaya Ma to make a final call on the process
01:22 to restart work, a decision which isn't expected to be made until early next year.
01:28 A Walker spokesperson said the company is following processes set out in state legislation.
01:34 [BLANK_AUDIO]