Overview
- Construction workers at Holy Trinity Catholic Church found human bones on Rottnest Island on Wednesday, prompting a WA Police investigation with the state anthropologist.
- Police say specialist advice and forensic tests show the remains are historical and consistent with Indigenous ancestry, with no suspicious circumstances reported.
- Management of the site has shifted to the Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation and the Rottnest Island Authority, with Whadjuk leaders planning a Monday meeting to set cultural protocols.
- Indigenous advocate Hannah McGlade is urging UNESCO World Heritage listing to secure protection and to drive truth telling about the prison era.
- Rottnest, also known as Wadjemup, held about 3,700 Aboriginal men and boys between 1838 and 1931, and many were buried in unmarked graves later covered by a budget camping area called Tentland.