Traditional ceremony for workers who found human remains
A TRADITIONAL smoking ceremony will be performed by traditional owners for people who discovered pre-colonial human remains on Palm Island last week.
A community notice released by Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council last night said Manbarra Traditional Owners Walter Palm Island, Alan Palm Island and Wally Saunders will oversee the site and perform the smoking ceremony.
The Traditional Owners are still deciding further steps about the long-term location of the remains including where they will be laid to rest.
An additional smoking ceremony for the whole Palm Island community will be held at a later stage, and may be affected by COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings, depending on when it is held.
The human remains were unearthed in an 80cm trench last Tuesday by workers upgrading Beach Rd.
Detective Inspector Chris Lawson told the Townsville Bulletin last week the remains were “pre-colonial and considerably old”.
“As such the coroner’s office has been made aware and are liaising with the Palm Island council and traditional owners with regards with what will happen to the remains,” he said. “We know it’s a traditional burial.”
A crime scene had earlier been declared when police were called, to initially determine whether the bones were human or not. “The roadway, which is being dug has been in place for 50 years,” Palm Island officer-in-charge Senior Sergeant David Rutherford said.
Snr-sgt Rutherford said there was no connection known between these remains and the discovery of a bone, believed to be a femur, on the other side of the island in May last year.
The bone was discovered not far from Frances Creek Old Cemetery – the oldest on the island that dates back to 1918.
The works, which will upgrade Beach Rd to concrete, started a fortnight ago.