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National | Hawke's Bay

Māori ancestral remains laid to rest

Māori ancestral remains linking back to the small settlement of Waimarama in the Hawke's Bay are to be laid to rest in their homeland.

However, the people of Waimarama Marae say that this is the beginning of a long journey for them, to see the return of more than 50 other treasures in overseas museums.

The ancestral remains being returned are four of 18 collected by farmer Frederick Huth Meinertzhagen and his wife Ellen in 1876.

Waimarama Marae chairperson, Bayden Barber says, 'the return of our ancestral remains to their homeland is a very big occasion for his people.'

Aroha Treacher with more.