Gamilaraay sacred tree returned to Australia after eight decades in Swiss museum

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A sacred carved tree called a dhulu, taken from its country nearly a century ago, has been returned to the Gamilaraay people in north-east NSW.

The dhulu was once part of a group of carved river red gums, or yarran, standing along the banks of Brigalow Creek, a tributary of the Namoi River, and associated with a sacred ceremonial ground near the small town of Boggabri.

According to the Gamilaraay people, the dhulu holds deep spiritual significance for the Gamilaraay community, who consider it an ancestral and familial figure.

They claim to have authority and knowledge about traditional ceremonies and family connections, passing on the values and teachings that are essential for the ongoing survival of the Gamilaraay people, culture, and community.

"We've still got our practices, they're just resting at the moment," said Gamilaraay Community Elder Greg Bulingha Griffiths.

This tree could actually help heal and nurse our mob back to health.

We need economic growth and we need cultural and social programs, but you need the tangible things and the subjects to create the content for the ceremony.

Wayne Griffiths, Mr Griffiths's nephew, said he felt privileged to bring some of his four kids, including his daughters Riley Yaraay-ili and Miah Baloo, to help welcome the dhulu home.

"This is our family's tree," Wayne Griffiths said.

It's just as irrelevant today in 2025 as it was back in 1788.

I'm lucky to have the original story from our country to pass on to my kids.

It's a real privilege and a blessing to have our traditional teaching methods available for my own kids.

'Needle in a haystack'

The dhulu was felled from along the bank of Brigalow Creek back in the 20th century and was then taken to Sydney, where it was sold to a Swiss researcher who donated the carving to the Museum der Kulturen Basel in Switzerland in 1940.

But it took a further 84 years before a Gamilaraay researcher stumbled upon the culturally significant artefact in the museum's storage area in 2022.

The Gamilaraay people lodged a claim or application for the return of the dhulu in 2023.

"It was like finding a needle in a big stack of hay," Wayne Griffiths said.

For our tree from Brigalow Creek in our little corner of the world, to be found in a small museum in Basel, Switzerland – on the other side of the globe.

"It has been incredible."

Within a 12-month period of its re-discovery, the dhulu received approval for repatriation from the Swiss authorities.

The Swiss ambassador to Australia, Nikolas Johannes Sturchler Gonzenbach, said there was swift agreement from all parties, including the museum, on the dhulu's return to the Gamilaraay community.

"G'day, today's the first time Switzerland's been a part of a return event like this in Australia," Mr Gonzenback said.

That's a really thoughtful and meaningful approach to dealing with the past and making amends for any wrongdoing.

We see ourselves as deeply rooted in a long-standing tradition of showing compassion, respecting human rights and resolving conflicts peacefully.

As part of the repatriation, the Gamilaraay community carved a replica of the dhulu, which was then gifted to the Museum der Kulturen in Basel, in recognition of their partnership.

Gamilaraay Elder Greg Bulingha Griffiths was part of the group that welcomed the dhulu back to Australia after its visit to Switzerland.

He said he looked forward to returning the sacred object from Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country, and across various Aboriginal tribal lands, back to the Gamilaraay Country in the Gunnedah area.

"G'day, I'm in for a real spiritual trip on the way home," Greg Griffiths said.

My ancestors will be with me.

He said he hoped to make a special reserve in Gunnedah for several sacred carved trees, including the centuries-old dhulu, to help share the depth of Gamilaraay beliefs, laws and customs.

"These trees can actually be a big help in that," he said.

Create a supportive and uplifting space for our blokes and sheilas in Gunnedah, so we can work through some healing processes about the loss of our cultural heritage and empower our mob to reconnect with their Indigenous identity.

Hopes for more repatriation

The dhulu is among more than 2,300 items that have been returned to First Nations communities in recent times, following talks led by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies — which is based in Canberra.

The institute's Return of Cultural Heritage (RoCH) program arranges for the return of items like objects, photos, audio and video recordings, artwork, and archive materials to be given back to their rightful owners.

"We're able to start to untangle the relationships and objects being held overseas through conversations, relationships and programs like the Return of Cultural Heritage program," said AIATSIS chief executive Leonard Hill.

We guarantee that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are at the forefront in those discussions.

According to AIATSIS, a large number of cultural items and artefacts, including body parts, are being held in museums, institutions, and private collections overseas.

Over the past 18 months, the number of overseas collecting institutions that have expressed a willingness to cooperate on repatriation by sharing their catalogue records with the institute has increased from 80 to approximately 140.

"We've got decades and decades and decades of work ahead of us in terms of bringing material back to country," Mr Hill said.

Wayne Griffiths said the return of the artwork from the Swiss museum showed how the role of institutions can change.

"We need to keep showing everyone that museums are still relevant," he said.

Museums still have a part to play.

They can help the sharing and spreading of genuine knowledge and genuine learning with the broader community rather than being the guardians of valuable information.

Aunty Greg Bulingha Griffiths says he knows of many more culturally significant and sacred Gamilaraay objects that are missing from the basements of Australian institutions that collect and store Aboriginal artefacts, including the Melbourne Museum and the Australian Museum in Sydney.

"G'day, those underground areas are chock-a-block with Aboriginal artefacts," Greg Griffiths said.

If we genuinely want to achieve reconciliation, then we should be supporting it in a culturally sensitive way.

Get amongst it and start having a yarn with people from different communities.

Focus on getting some action happening and getting our gear back so we can use it as a means to empower and help our mob.