A Tasmanian Aboriginal hair sample has been repatriated following a request from the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre (TAC) and a review and agreement by the Executive Board of the Wellcome Trust.
The decision has been made in the context of our policy on human remains. Requests for the return of hair and nails are not automatically covered under this policy but, in line with guidance issued by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and the Human Tissue Act (2004), are considered on a case by case basis. It was felt, given the importance of historically removed human remains to the Tasmanian Aboriginal community, that this request fully merited attention.
The hair sample was purchased by the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum (WHMM) in 1930 from Professor Richard Barry (1867-62) formerly Professor of Anatomy at the University of Melbourne. The remains were not on display and were held on behalf of the Trust by the Science Museum, London, in their secure stores.
To inform the Executive Board’s decision, we consulted documentary evidence in our library and archives and sought independent expert opinion regarding the cultural, religious and spiritual significance of the item, as well as the potential scientific, educational and historical value of the remains.
It was concluded that it was likely the hair sample was originally collected by the German anthropologist Felix von Luschan in the late 1870s. The circumstances of acquisition are unknown, but at this time there was fierce competition among European collectors to acquire remains of Tasmanian Aboriginal peoples thought to be ‘extinct’.
The remains in question carry great significance to the claimants, having particular potency given the painful history of the Tasmanian Aboriginal people and their community’s active assertion of their rights to control their cultural heritage.
The uncertain provenance and risk of contamination undermines any potential scientific value, and the Trust noted the TAC’s vocal opposition to unconsented use of human remains for DNA research.
The Trust recognised the TAC as a legitimate body for co-ordinating requests for the repatriation of human remains and, given the strength of feeling evidenced in the repatriation request, lack of precise provenance, limited scientific research value and likely unethical nature of the original acquisition, the Board agreed to return the requested item to the Tasmanian Aboriginal community, subject to the following conditions:
- The hair sample be handled in an appropriate manner on its return to Tasmania and with due consideration to the communities to which the sample might belong.
- That this decision does not set a precedent for any future claims, each of which will be considered on a case-by-case basis.