Aboriginal warrior in 'dignified' burial

The remains of Yagan, the 19th-century Aboriginal warrior, have been laid to rest in Western Australia, nearly 180 years after he was killed and his severed head displayed in a British museum.

The private ceremony was held on Saturday by the Noongar tribe and coincided with the opening of the Yagan Memorial Park just outside of Perth. Yagan was shot by a European settler in 1833. His body was believed to be buried in Perth's Swan Valley but his head was taken to England, where it sat in a museum for a century before being buried in an English cemetery. After years of petitions by the Aboriginal community, Yagan's head was exhumed and returned to Australia in 1997.

Richard Wilkes, chairman of the Yagan Reburial Committee, said it had been a long process to reunite the warrior's remains. The exact location of Yagan's body isn't known. "We are all proud that Yagan will be buried with dignity," he said.