The remains of two Tongan males stored in the Australian Museum's collection in Sydney have been repatriated to their present-day descendants living on 'Eua Island in the south of Tonga. More than 150 years since they died, their skulls have been laid to rest in a royal funeral service attended by hundreds.
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00:00 A royal homecoming for two Tongan males over 150 years after they died.
00:14 We know little about their lives, but Australians took the remains and put them in a Sydney
00:19 Museum collection.
00:21 Now the final chapter, repatriation to their present-day ancestors where they have been
00:27 laid to rest with dignity.
00:31 Why it's important to me is that this is our national treasure.
00:35 This is our inheritance.
00:38 The two ancestors originated from the islands of Ata in the far south of the Kingdom of
00:44 Tonga.
00:45 Balu and Tupou Ata are the names posthumously bestowed to them by King Tupou VI.
00:52 Appointing names to the dead is not customary in Tonga, but this is a momentous occasion.
00:59 It's a very, very sensitive, very happy occasion.
01:04 At the same time, it allows us to look back.
01:07 The King, along with Queen Nana Spau'u and Princess Latu Fuipeka were present for the
01:13 service and were visibly emotional.
01:22 The Royal Palace of Tonga plays a central role in this repatriation.
01:27 For a leader, it's a must for them, you know.
01:30 You have to bury your mum, you have to bury your dead.
01:34 You can't throw it away, symbolise it.
01:37 Little is known about Tupou and Balu Ata, but records at the Australian Museum have
01:42 confirmed their provenance.
01:45 Ancestral remains were taken without permission and without consent and taken into museums
01:50 for their collections.
01:52 So it's highly important that those ancestral remains are returned to their communities
01:56 so that they can have their burial rights.
01:59 The Australian Museum has been prioritising the repatriation of Aboriginal and Torres
02:05 Strait Islanders remaining resigneers, and now they're looking to replicate the efforts
02:11 in the Pacific.
02:12 Repatriation is a very big topic right now in Australia, and finding out how we can do
02:17 this properly was part of the process, because it enables us to put some practices in place
02:24 so that we can do that with the other ancestors we hold throughout the Pacific.
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