Arabic version: أعمال حفر في ريفرلاند أخلّت برفات أسلاف السكان الأصليين
According to ABC News, an unauthorised excavation at a River Murray cliff site in South Australia’s Riverland disturbed Aboriginal ancestral remains and artefacts. Renmark Paringa Council documents show landowner Arisvi Holdings Pty Ltd instructed earthworks in March 2022 without development approvals. The River Murray and Mallee Aboriginal Corporation (RMMAC) said it was alerted to the works by an anonymous call in July 2025.
Ngintait elder and RMMAC board director Philip Johnson, known as Uncle Willow, assessed the site after the call and reported finding a skull fragment with an eye socket in a pile of dirt. He said ancestral artefacts, including shell middens, had also been disturbed. Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation confirmed the bones were Aboriginal ancestral remains in August 2025. The department said no Aboriginal heritage had been documented on the property before the excavation.
The earthworks prompted a retrospective staged development application covering the excavation and land division, followed by proposed housing. The State Commission Assessment Panel initially rejected the proposal, citing detrimental impacts on natural landform, waterfront stability and natural features. Arisvi Holdings later succeeded in the Environmental Resources and Development Court, with stage one retrospectively approved in April 2025. A May 2026 amendment involving minor changes to two proposed residential pads is under review by the State Planning Commission.
Renmark Paringa Council chief executive Tony Siviour said the council first pursued criminal prosecution before reaching a $150,000 financial settlement over breaches of the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016. The council received $100,000 for legal fees and said the remaining $50,000 would go to parks, open space, environmental and landscaping works. The Environmental Protection Agency SA also found breaches after sediment runoff entered the River Murray, issuing a clean-up order that was lifted in 2024.
Through its lawyer, Arisvi said it had cooperated with relevant authorities and that matters had been resolved, with no outstanding investigations to its knowledge. It said construction had stopped while it awaited the outcome of its variation application. RMMAC chief executive Les Harris said the corporation had given the company recommendations including potential reburial, relocation, fencing or exclusion of areas to protect cultural heritage.
