At a multi-billion-dollar housing development in Adelaide’s north, construction was brought to a halt last year following the discovery of Aboriginal remains.
The estate attracted controversy and protest after it was revealed the remains of more than 20 people were uncovered there at two separate burial sites.
On Friday, the South Australian government said it had given developers the green light to continue construction with strict conditions.
They include that the remains be returned, with one of the burial sites being turned into a memorial.
What is Riverlea?
It’s a $3 billion housing estate in Adelaide’s north, about half an hour from the Adelaide CBD, near Buckland Park.
The Walker Corporation is building 12,000 new homes there.
The site was given Major Development Status in 2007 by the state’s Labor government, and construction began in 2021.
Construction began at Riverlea in 2021. (ABC News: Che Chorley)
What happened when remains were found?
Twenty-three sets of Indigenous ancestral remains were removed from a burial site during construction of Riverlea last year.
Two more sets of remains at that same location remain in the ground and four other sets of partial remains were discovered about 350 metres north of the first site.
They also remain in situ.
Legally, developers and landowners are required to report the discovery of any Aboriginal site, artefact or remains to SA Aboriginal Affairs Minister Kyam Maher as soon as possible.
The registered Native Title body corporate, Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation (KYAC), has been working with the developers since the early stages of the project.
KYAC previously controversially endorsed a proposal by the Walker Corporation to move remains to another area in the estate.
In response to the move, a protest was held outside the development last October, prompted by concerns from members of the broader Indigenous community about the way the remains had been treated.
Developers and landowners have to report the discovery of any Aboriginal site, artefact or remains to Mr Maher. (ABC News: Carl Saville)
Following the protests, the South Australian government put a pause on work at the burial sites last year.
The authorisation imposes 25 conditions on the developer to make sure Aboriginal heritage is managed respectfully.
There’ll be a requirement to create a Kaurna Memorial Resting Place at the primary discovery location, designed in consultation with the Kaurna community.
A government spokesperson said the extent of the remains at the second smaller burial site still needed to be determined by archaeological works conducted with traditional owners.
“Once the full extent of burials at site two is known, the remains can be reinterred and reburied at the resting place, or left in situ if that is feasible,” they said.
What has been the response?
Mitzi Nam, who is the chairperson of KYAC, described the situation as bittersweet.
“We didn’t know what the outcome would be, so the part about the remains being reburied as close to where they were taken from, that was a good result, but ideally it shouldn’t have happened,” she said.
“There shouldn’t have been that many removed in the first place – it’s a bit of a roller-coaster.”
Ms Nam said the condition that required Walker Corporation to establish a memorial place at the larger burial site was negotiated with the previous Kaurna Yerta chair and board.
Although it has not yet been confirmed by the government, she said she believed that partial remains found at the smaller site may now be moved to the memorial place.
“That’s part of the bitter sweetness of it,” she said.
“We understand the housing crisis and the need for it, but it would be really nice if there was more consideration of the cultural heritage.”
Riverlea is located north of Adelaide, and will have around 12,000 houses. (YouTube: Walker Corporation)
Ian Carter is a Kaurna elder, and said he understood the need to provide housing to South Australians, but that protecting Aboriginal heritage needed to be the priority.
“I need to be clear that needs to happen in co-existence with the Kaurna heritage that’s there,” he said.
“It should be the first and foremost to preserve and protect that heritage that’s there, not develop strategies on how to remove it.”
Mr Carter also expressed concerns that KYAC was given this responsibility, after its previous endorsement of plans to move the remains.
“The decision by the minister has warmed the hearts of the elders and traditional owners, in that our ancestors remains will go back to their final resting place,” he said.
“But I am saddened by the fact that the minister has only kept Kaurna Yerta in the heritage negotiations from this point onwards.”
Mitzi Nam said she hoped there’d be more community involvement in the future. (ABC News: Steve Opie)
Ms Nam said there’d been a significant response from consultation and community members, which she hoped would improve community involvement into the future.
“I’d like to think KYAC would take this more seriously now and have community more involved in what’s happening with cultural heritage especially in the Riverlea development,” she said.
Mr Maher told ABC Radio Adelaide that there aren’t any communities that have one unified view.
“We sometimes suggest that Aboriginal communities ought to have one homogenised view, I think in any group of people you have different views,” he said.
“It’ll be that Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation who are the group that has negotiations with the developer, it’s not up to me or the government or anyone else to decide who represents Kaurna, that’s up to Kaurna native title holders.”
In a statement released on Friday, Walker Corporation said it was pleased to receive the authorisation from the minister.
“We look forward to continuing our close collaboration with KYAC and the broader Kaurna community in the ongoing delivery of Riverlea,” the statement said.
What happens next?
Walker Corporation now has the go-ahead to continue all aspects of development and will work with the Kaurna community to design the memorial at the larger burial site.
Mr Maher also encouraged the developers to consider better ways it can communicate with Kaurna people.
The developers will have to comply with 25 conditions to ensure Aboriginal heritage will be managed respectfully. (ABC News: Carl Saville )
Ms Nam said conversations around cultural heritage needed to take place before construction, and there were bound to be future discoveries.
“It could happen in any area,” she said.
“I grew up out north and going from Elizabeth to Gawler used to be like a country drive but there’s hardly any land between now, so it’d be very surprising if [on] new developments they didn’t find remains.
“It’s about how we try to mitigate any destruction.”
But she said it did give hope that Aboriginal heritage would be better protected both in South Australia and nationally.