Horniman to return Warumungu objects to Australia

​Two wartilykirri (boomerangs) and a ngurrulumuru (stone axe) are among 10 museum objects that are to be returned to the Warumungu community in Australia by London's Horniman Museum & Gardens.

The museum received a formal repatriation request for the items in May 2023. The Charity Commission has endorsed the transfer of nine of the objects noting the trustees “moral obligation”.

The tenth object – one of the boomerangs – is part of the handling collection rather than the permanent collections and did not require the commission’s approval.

The Warumungu objects, which are all of cultural and spiritual importance, will be handed over to a delegation from Australia later this year. They will be housed at the Nyinkka Nyunyu Art and Culture Centre in Tennant Creek, Northern Australia, and cared for in accordance with the traditions and customs of the Warumungu peoples.

“Because it’s been taken away from here, we would like to see all those things come back to the area where they were collected," said Michael Jones Jampijinpa, senior Warumungu man. "They are Warumungu and they need to come back to Warumungu country."

“I want to thank [the Horniman Museum] for sending those things back to us. They’ve made a choice to send them back to where they belong. It wasn’t them who collected it, it was their ancestors, so I want to thank them.”

Two of the objects – a marttan (knife) and a murkutu (sheath) – have already been removed from display in the Horniman’s World Gallery ahead of their return. Their place in the display will be left empty with an explanatory label for now.

Michael Salter-Church, chair of trustees at the Horniman Museum and Gardens, said: “These objects are of the utmost significance for the Warumungu people, and were lost to them in circumstances where they were compelled to sell or give them away. We are pleased to be able to return them to the care of their original community.”