The Return

AN EPIC, 250-YEAR STORY TO RETURN HOME THE CAPTIVE BODILY REMAINS OF FIRST PEOPLES.

Once considered ‘exotic’ trophies of antiquity, the bodily remains of Indigenous men, women, and children served scientific theories of evolution and were prized objects displayed on mantelpieces. In the cover of darkness, grave robbers would pillage burial grounds, to sell Ancestral remains to the highest bidder under the guise of scientific research. Thousands were stolen and sold.

Today, they are still locked away.

Some are displayed in private homes, while others are hidden deep within the bowels of museums and universities. Now is the time to bring them back to Country.

Torres Strait Islander playwright John Harvey (Heart is a Wasteland) recounts a dark history of Australia in The Return, inspired by Yorta Yorta man Jason Tamiru’s experiences as a repatriation worker. Three narratives interweave—a repatriation officer, a museum curator, and a bone collector—uncovering a macabre history of false justifications in an epic tale spanning 250 years.

In his Malthouse directorial debut, Jason Tamiru joins forces with Malthouse Theatre Artistic Director Matthew Lutton for a theatrical event that will give rise to how the repatriation of Ancestors can bring us closer to homecoming and healing.