Premier Colin Barnett and Indigenous Affairs Minister Kim Hames today officially opened the Yagan Memorial Park in the Swan Valley.
The ceremony to open the park culminated a long campaign by the Noongar people to reunite the head of the warrior Yagan with his body, which is believed to have been buried at the site in Belhus.
The Department of Indigenous Affairs has been working with the Derbarl Yerrigan Committee for the reburial of Yagan's kaat (head) and the City of Swan for 13 years to lay Yagan's kaat to rest.
A private traditional Noongar ceremony, witnessed by elders, was also held to bury the warrior's remains.
It is important for Noongar people that Yagan, their warrior and hero, was returned to his land where he once walked so that his spirit would be free to continue its eternal journey.
The State Government contributed $1.23million to this project with $558,000 additional funding across the next five years for the ongoing asset management and maintenance of the Yagan Memorial Park with the City of Swan.
Much of the work was carried out by a team of Aboriginal horticultural trainees employed by the City of Swan.
"The Yagan Memorial Park is a fitting tribute to the life, struggles and death of Yagan and to the memory of all Aboriginal people who suffered and died in support of their land, culture and heritage," Mr Barnett said.
"I congratulate the Derbarl Yerrigan Committee and the artists involved in the project. The quality of work is outstanding."
Dr Hames said he had been involved in the project in two terms of Government.
"I am very pleased to have been able to see this project through," Dr Hames said.
"It is sad, however, that not all members of the Derbarl Yerrigan Committee have lived long enough to see this day.
"It's a day that's been long anticipated, the end of one story and the beginning of another, as the Yagan Memorial Park will become one of the State's key cultural resources."
Yagan was killed on July 11, 1833. His head was smoked to preserve it then given to the British Museum. It was brought back to Perth by a delegation of Noongar representatives in 1997.
The reburial date of July 10 was chosen as it was the anniversary of Yagan's death and coincided with the end of NAIDOC Week.
Office of the Premier - 9222 9475
Office of the Minister for Indigenous Affairs - 9222 8788
