A respectful reburial

The Moorebank Intermodal Precinct is a major infrastructure project comprising of 850,000m2 of modern warehousing and freight management facilities.

Artefact was contracted to develop a salvage strategy to manage Aboriginal stone artefacts and scarred trees identified within the project area. Our work was required to address the conditions of state significant development approval.

OUR
SOLUTION

Our approach was to carefully balance the desires of the developers with the needs of the local Aboriginal custodians.

Working with interested parties our salvage strategy involved relocation of scar trees, taking custody of stone artefacts, managing the reburial and recording the process.

We prepared a care agreement on behalf of a local Aboriginal land council, approved by Heritage NSW, which allowed for the removal of scar trees to be relocated and managed in a new location.

Our framework also allowed for a variety of stone artefacts collected on site to be carefully reburied along with a smoking ceremony and in line with the wishes of Registered Aboriginal Parties (RAPs).


SUCCESS

The completed salvage strategy and artefact reburial allowed for final development approval and for construction to begin on the site.

We were able to successfully mediate the wishes of both the developers and the RAPs to find an agreeable outcome.

Artefact went beyond the minimum statutory requirements by facilitating a tailored reburial solution that utilized natural materials (paperbark and bark twine) to respect the wishes of the Aboriginal community regarding the management of tangible representations of their heritage.

Details have been lodged with the Aboriginal Heritage Information Management System (AHIMS).

“The e artefacts have been wrapped in paperbark and returned to the earth in a way that shows cultural respect and protocol.”

Julie Dannevig
Tharawal Local Aboriginal Land Council

Image: The Moorebank Intermodal Precinct freight logistic hub is an industry-first joint development model between Australian Government-owned National Intermodal Corporation, Qube Holdings and LOGOS Property. All images courtesy of LOGOS Property.


CONTACT

HOLIDAY CLOSE
Our offices will be closed from Monday 23 Dec 2024 and will re-open on Monday 6 Jan 2025.
For unexpected finds and urgent project enquiries, please contact our Heritage Manager Stephanie Moore at stephanie.moore@artefact.net.au or call 0420 403 581.
For all other enquires please contact our General Manager Martin Edmunds at martin.edmunds@artefact.net.au or call 0404 877 490.
We wish you a peaceful holiday break and look forward to working with you in 2025.

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