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It turns out Tony wasn’t the only individual whose remains were taken without permission.
Here we see a photo of John’s brother Tony as a young boy. Source: Supplied
A recent coronial inquiry in Tasmania, led by state coroner Simon Cooper, published a report in September. The findings revealed that 177 human samples had been retained by the museum without the necessary consent.
Among those affected, in addition to John’s brother Tony, was Elaine King, the mother of Colin King.
The Rodda Museum is a pathology museum within the University of Tasmania. Source: SBS / University of Tamania 2018
It wasn’t just the discovery that a part of his mother’s body wasn’t resting in her grave that Colin says has been traumatic — but also trying to get that body part back.
“It’s like living a horror movie, daily.”
“In relation to Mr King, the Division have had considerable and regular contact with Mr King and supported his engagement with these supports”. The division also said it had phone conversations with Colin around the time of the email correspondence.
Ethics of obtaining human remains
“It is inconceivable to my mind that it would ever happen again although the fact that the practice continued for as long as it did and ended only comparatively recently is also almost equally inconceivable.”
“[The universities] do all of the research based on those remains — that have been donated for the purpose.”
Wasef also says that many remains of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are still being held in museums in Australia and internationally — noting that many Indigenous communities affected want to see their ancestors laid to rest once and for all.
