Mungo Man, Mungo Lady buried despite traditional owners' legal challenge

Australia's oldest remains have been buried despite an eleventh-hour legal challenge, leaving traditional owners "outraged". Key points: The Department of Agrictulture, Water and Environment says more than 100 Indigenous remains have been incorrectly buried Legal action filed earlier in the week had seemingly delayed the proposed re-interring of Mungo Man, Mungo Lady and 106 other Indigenous skeletons A traditional owner says the outcome is an outrage and has called for an investigation The 42,000-year-old remains of Mungo Man, Mungo Lady and 106 other Indigenous skeletons, which were removed in the 1960s and 1970s without the permission of traditional owners, were proposed to be re-interred at unmarked sites in the Willandra Lakes region of south-west New South Wales. A group of traditional owners representing the area's three Indigenous groups, the Mutthi Mutthi, Ngiyampaa, and Barkandji-Paakantyi, filed an injunction earlier this week under section 9 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984, to prevent the burial. "We call on the minister to tell us where the remains are now buried, so that we can provide Mungo Man and Mungo Lady with a culturally-appropriate public memorial on country."