Overview
- Ground-penetrating radar at the main bus-stop site on Rottnest Island identified 12 potential burial-like anomalies that now need archaeological investigation to confirm if they are graves.
- Work at the bus-stop near Holy Trinity Church remains stopped and fenced off as officials review plans with Indigenous elders and consider changes to the project.
- The bones unearthed during construction on April 8 were confirmed to be human, and WA Police transferred them to Perth for forensic testing to determine their age and whether they are historical.
- Specialist advice says the remains are consistent with Indigenous ancestry, though investigators have not yet verified ancestry or age and caution that firm results may take time.
- GPR highlights soil disturbances but cannot prove a burial on its own, a key step on an island where about 3,700 Aboriginal men and boys were imprisoned in the 19th and early 20th centuries and many were buried in unmarked graves; the Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation has urged community members to seek support.