The Town of Gawler Council is currently working towards stabilizing the Pioneer Park Heritage Wall on Murray Street. Initial investigations have uncovered the presence of remains from past burials on the heritage site with and supervision by a Forensic Anthropologist.
The purpose of the initial investigations was to determine the location of graves made between 1847 and 1870 in the area immediately adjacent to the Heritage Wall. Human remains from these graves will have to be exhumed before the start of construction works aimed at restoring the wall.
Test excavations indicated that the area of the Pioneer Park immediately adjacent to the Heritage Wall is filled predominantly with a mixed landfill. However, a few remains, representing graves of 3 people were found, with Emeritus Professor Henneberg and the University of Adelaide team currently in the process of exhuming them.
There is some possibility that earthworks related to the strengthening of the Heritage Wall may uncover more human remains. In this case Emeritus Professor Henneberg and his team will be on standby to remove additional remains professionally and respectfully.
The graves that have been exhumed represent three individuals: a child of 5-10 years and an adolescent male of about 15-17 years old and an adult male of around 60 years old.
Due to a lack of records and previous disruption to the site it is difficult to identify with certainty who the remains belong to, we can however find out other things about them such as their ages, lifestyles, diets and diseases of the earliest colonists living in our region.
The works to restore the wall may take some time to complete due to the historical nature of the site but will provide a fantastic opportunity to better understand and preserve our towns history. The Pioneer Park wall and the McKinlay Monument are an iconic feature of our town and ensuring they are preserved generations to come is paramount.
For more information on the planned works please contact Council on 8522 9211 or at council@gawler.sa.gov.au
