Rottnest Island: Construction halted after 12 more burial sites detected near site where human remains found
Construction work on Rottnest Island has been canceled and is likely to be scrapped after more human remains were found, including at a dozen suspected historic burial sites.
Improvements to a bus stop outside the Catholic Holy Trinity Church were immediately suspended on April 8, when contractors uncovered human bones for the first time.
The skeletal remains were later confirmed to be historic Indigenous bones found among unknown mass grave sites on the island dating back to the early 1800s.
The area was known as the Rottnest Island Aboriginal Establishment and was used as a prison where thousands of Aboriginal men and boys were imprisoned in a forced labor camp.
On Friday, the Rottnest Island Authority said further ground-penetrating radar surveys were being carried out to determine whether there may be more human remains at the site.
“The GPR survey has identified a further 12 potential burial-like anomalies at the site, but additional archaeological investigations are required before burial sites can be confirmed,” a spokesman said.
It is estimated that 3700 Aboriginal men and boys were imprisoned on the island. It is unknown how many people died, but the number is estimated to be in the hundreds.
Tourism Minister Reece Whitby was unsure whether construction work would go ahead and whether next steps would be taken carefully with Indigenous elders.
“We are all aware of Rottnest’s history in terms of incarceration and deaths on the island where many indigenous people live,” he said.
“I think we’ll probably have to change our intentions in terms of the work going on there. We always take a very cautious approach to ground disturbances.”
Mr Whitby acknowledged the distress experienced by the Indigenous community.
“We immediately stopped activities there, work was canceled and the area was fenced out of respect,” he said.
“We are working on this carefully.”
