ANCESTRAL remains have been returned to an Aboriginal leader more than 90 years after they were taken halfway around the world.

A special handover ceremony has been held to mark the start of the return 10,000 mile journey for Aboriginal ancestral remains donated to Brighton Museum and Art Gallery in 1925.

Councillor Alan Robins, lead member for economic development and culture, said the authority was pleased to return the remains to their "rightful home".

It is the latest move to repatriate remains and artwork Down Under from the city in a programme that has lasted more than a decade.

The remains were donated to Brighton Museum and Art Gallery by scientist and collector Frederick William Lucas in November 1925 as part of a large group of bones and tribal items which had been on loan to the museum since September 1922.

The remains were handed over to Ngarrindjeri Community elder Major Sumner in a ceremony organised by the Australian High Commission at Australia House in London on Friday which was attended by Cllr Robins and Royal Pavilion and Museums director Janita Bagshawe.

The repatriation is part of an Australian Government programme assisting Indigenous communities to pursue the unconditional return of ancestral remains in museum collections which has already seen more than 1,000 ancestral remains returned from the United Kingdom.

Brighton and Hove City Council has been involved in the process since 2005 when the Australian Government requested the return of five ancestral remains held by Royal Pavilion and Museums.

In September 2008, councillors agreed to return four items from the Natural History collection which were collected by Major Sumner and George Trevorrow from the Ngarrindjeri Community six months later in a ceremony outside Brighton Museum and Art Gallery.

Later in 2009, the city council voted to return a scared item held the museum's world art collection.

Cllr Robins said: “The city council is very pleased to be in a position to return these remains to their rightful home, and the ceremony was a very special and moving experience.

“The return of the remains is very important to the Ngarrindjeri Community to ensure their ancestors are finally able to rest in peace in their homelands.”

The Australian High Commission have said: “It is both a symbolic gesture for both parties and an important part of the healing process for the descendants of the ancestors being brought back to their homeland to rest.”