墨尔本大学于2026年7月30日在北领地阿纳姆地的Bäniyala地区举行遣返仪式，将9具Yolŋu祖先遗骨送回故地并进行埋葬[1]。这些遗骨在过去85至90年间由人类学家Donald Thomson采集并保存在维多利亚州[1]。Maḏarrpa氏族领袖Djambawa Marawili称这一天为"意义重大的日子"[1]。
此次遣返是多年努力的成果，也是近期更广泛遣返行动的一部分[1]。过去一周内，14具祖先遗骨已被遣返给东北阿纳姆地的6个氏族[1]。墨尔本大学向英国、法国、德国、日本、丹麦、印度尼西亚、挪威、意大利和捷克等国的相关机构发送了此次仪式的翻译声明[1]。Donald Thomson收藏目前包含超过10,000件物品及照片、影像和录音等资料，这些资料是在1928年至1965年间由墨尔本大学组建的[1]。
The University of Melbourne has completed a significant repatriation ceremony, returning nine Yolŋu ancestral remains to their homeland in the Bäniyala region of Arnhem Land on July 30, 2026 [1]. The remains, which had been held in Victoria for 85 to 90 years after anthropologist Donald Thomson removed them from the Northern Territory, were reburied in a ceremony marking the culmination of extended repatriation efforts [1].
Djambawa Marawili, leader of the Maḏarrpa clan, described the occasion as a "momentous day" [1]. This repatriation represents part of a broader effort spanning the past week, during which 14 ancestral remains have been returned to six north-east Arnhem Land clans [1]. The University of Melbourne, which assembled the Donald Thomson Collection—containing over 10,000 items alongside photographs, film, and recordings accumulated between 1928 and 1965—has circulated translated statements about the ceremony to institutions in Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Denmark, Indonesia, Norway, Italy, and the Czech Republic [1]. The university's outreach reflects a call for global institutions to follow suit in advancing the repatriation of cultural heritage to its communities of origin [1].