The Bell family is among many aboriginal remains that reside on the piece of land in the Aboriginal Cemetery, sacred to the history of Yass.

A plaque erected on October 14, 2011 commemorates the return of ancestral remains of three Aboriginal people that were taken from the Yass district in 1881. 

The remains were long held at the Australian Museum at Sydney and were returned to the Ngunnawal Aboriginal Corporation as part of the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage. 

‘It’s most important to Aboriginal Australians that their long separated ancestors are reunited with their country,’ reads the plaque inscription. 

Recently, the state government declared the cemetery an Aboriginal Place, following a three-year battle from the Aboriginal community. The cemetery has been recognised for it’s cultural, social and historical significance to the Aboriginal community. 

“The cemetery now plays an important role in the Yass Aboriginal cultural landscape as a place where people can trace their family history and where Elders share knowledge about traditional and post-contact history,” Member for Goulburn Pru Goward said

For the Aboriginal community, the recognition means more than just a name. 

“It’s not only significant for our family but our children and their children,” Brad Bell said. “This cemetery is an important part of our history and the history of the Yass community. It helps us tell a story, tell our story.” 

While there are a number of headstones in the cemetery, most are unnamed. The cemetery also sits below the Roman Catholic plots, at the base of the hill and is divided by a cement wall. The fence below the cemetery sits above remains that don’t have a headstone, and where the Aboriginal community believe their ancestors have been buried on top of one another.

While the declaration of an Aboriginal Place does not change the status of the land or affect ownership rights, it is an offence for a person to harm or desecrate an Aboriginal Place.