Austria returns remains of Indigenous New Zealanders stolen more than a century ago
- Austria has sent the remains of 64 Indigenous New Zealanders home in white boxes
- Hundreds gathered at the country's national museum, Te Papa, in Wellington, to witness the procession
The remains of about 64 Indigenous New Zealanders stolen in the 19th century have been sent back to New Zealand from Austria after more than 70 years of negotiations.
Hundreds of people gathered for a ceremony at the country's national museum, Te Papa, in Wellington, to witness a procession as the remains were carried in white boxes, placed on a stage and covered with straw blankets and fur.
Indigenous men and women, sitting around the boxes, spoke and sang in Maori to mark the return of the remains.
The Maori and Moriori skeletal remains, including skulls without mandibles, craniums, loose mandibles and maxilla fragments, were largely collected by Austrian taxidermist and grave robber Andreas Reischek from 1877 to 1889.
Since 2003, the Te Papa museum has run a program to repatriate skeletal remains from institutions.
More than 600 remains have since been returned, including 111 Moriori and two Maori from London's Natural History Museum in July.
"It is always a spiritual relief and privilege to welcome back our ancestors who have been victims of such wrongdoing," Pou Temara, chair of Te Papa's Repatriation Advisory Panel, said in a statement ahead of the return of the remains.
