The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery is preparing advice about the potential return of further Aboriginal rock carvings taken from the West Coast in the 1960s, in addition to those taken from Preminghana.
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A slab of the schist - sedimentary rock - was carved away from Greenes Creek in the Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area, north of Sandy Cape, and is still stored at TMAG.
It was taken as part of the same expedition that resulted in the removal of the substantially larger Preminghana petroglyphs further north, which the Aboriginal community hopes can be returned by August.
TMAG made the decision to remove parts of the rock carvings against the requests of the Institute of Aboriginal Studies at the time, which planned to provide funding for their protection ultimately through using sand to cover them.
The ancient home of the Greenes Creek rock carvings is on Crown land, rather than Aboriginal-owned land like Preminghana.
Honorary research associate at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Peter Sims OAM, visited the site in the 1970s as part of his studies, after the removal by TMAG.
He said returning the Greenes Creek rock carving would be more straightforward logistically than Preminghana as it was not subject to the same levels of erosion, and was much smaller.
Mr Sims said TMAG believed it was trying to protect the carvings, but it had the opposite effect.
"It was a mistake of the time, and an indication of the times as well. They should have known better," he said.
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Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania chair Michael Mansell said the Greenes Creek carvings should be returned as a matter of priority.
"Who cares whether the government has given us land rights over that site? We're talking about the integrity of Aboriginal history, and integrity means putting them back from where the thieves took them," he said.
"Ideally they should be handed over at the same time (as the Preminghana petroglyphs)."
A Department of State Growth spokesperson said TMAG was currently focusing on the logistics of returning the Preminghana petroglyphs, but was committed to assisting in further returns.
"The TMAG Board have indicated that they are open to a discussion about the future of the Greenes Creek petroglyphs, and advice is currently being prepared for them," he said.
"TMAG has sought advice and understands that the Greenes Creek petroglyphs would need to be the subject of a separate permit application under the Aboriginal Heritage Act."