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Museum to return tribal treasures to Aboriginals

By Sean O'Neill

6 November 1997 - Aboriginal treasures, removed from Australia more than a century ago, will be returned this week after being discovered in a city museum.

A shell bracelet and necklace worn by Truganini, an Aboriginal folk hero who clung to her culture despite persecution and imprisonment, were recognised by an Australian expatriate in the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter, Devon.

The items, which have been in the museum's possession since 1905, will be handed over to a three-man Aboriginal delegation tomorrow. They will be put on display at a new cultural centre being built on land given back to the Aborigines by the Australian Government in 1995.

The jewellery was noticed by Marian Tewkesbury, an Australian now living in Axminster, Devon. She recognised the items from pictures of Truganini that she first saw in childhood. Mrs Tewkesbury, a former teacher, contacted Tasmanian tribal groups who lobbied the museum for the return of the items.

This article is from The Daily Telegraph

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