Unlawful Excavation Damages Aboriginal Burial Site and Artefacts in South Australia

Standing along the banks of the River Murray on Erawirung Country, Aunty Sheryl Giles watches the sun set over a cliff face.

It is something the Ngintait Nganguruku woman has done many times.

But this cliff is special; it is the burial place of ancestors and home to artefacts that tell a story of Aboriginal occupation from thousands of years gone by.

Ms Giles said both had been irreversibly changed by an unlawful excavation carried out four years ago.

Warning: Indigenous readers are advised this article includes details some may find distressing.

"Just because we didn't fence our cemeteries doesn't mean they're not there."

Renmark Paringa Council documents show landowner Arisvi Holdings Pty Ltd instructed earthworks at the site without any development approvals in March 2022.

The company received a retrospective approval three years after the initial excavation.

It was also found in breach of planning and environmental acts in relation to the excavation.

The company issued a statement through its lawyer that said that since the earthworks, the company had been investigated by or had to engage with various regulatory authorities.

"Arisvi has fully cooperated with the relevant authorities ... all the matters have been resolved," the statement said.

"There are no outstanding investigations against Arisvi to its knowledge."

A big dig without consent

The private land is in South Australia's Riverland, about 260 kilometres north-east of Adelaide.

It is a picturesque riverfront site surrounded by several houses and tourist accommodation businesses.

Council documents show Arisvi Holdings's director Stavros Georgantas and Anastasios Babaniotis, who had an informal interest in the land, instructed a bulldozer operator to excavate the site.

Six weeks later, the Renmark Paringa Council became aware of the earthworks and issued a stop work order.

This prompted a retrospective application proposing a staged development of the site: the first for earthworks and a land division, and the second for houses to be built.

The State Commission Assessment Panel rejected the application in full.

Arisvi Holdings fought to have the decision overturned in the Environmental Resources and Development Court.

This time, it was successful, and stage one was approved.

The statement from Arisvi's lawyer said it had not benefited from the earthworks, which occurred in 2022.

"In accordance with settled legal principles, Arisvi obtained no advantage in the assessment of its development application by virtue of works having been commenced on site prior to receiving development approval," it said.

A devastating discovery

An anonymous call in July 2025 alerted the River Murray and Mallee Aboriginal Corporation (RMMAC) to the excavation, more than three years after the dig had occurred.

It led to Ngintait elder and RMMAC board director Philip Johnson, better known as Uncle Willow, to assess the site.

Uncle Willow said ancestral artefacts, including human-generated shell deposits, known as middens, were also disturbed.

"I nearly cried; it was very bad. I was thinking of my children," he said.

"Our ancestors got disturbed on that land and it's just not right [in] my eyes."

Professor of archaeology at Flinders University Amy Roberts has conducted archaeological exploration of clifftops in the Riverland.

She said River Murray waterways and cliffs were areas that had preserved some of the oldest evidence of Aboriginal life and history.

Remains confirmed

Six months into becoming RMMAC's new chief executive, Les Harris learnt of the excavation and immediately contacted the Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation (AAR) Department, and all other relevant authorities.

Mr Harris said RMMAC provided Uncle Willow's assessment to the department to further investigate.

He said the department's report showed the magnitude of the excavation and its impact.

"I believe there were at least 40 points put in the report where there was a culturally significant location or area," he said.

AAR said the remains were confirmed in August 2025.

A spokesperson said there was no Aboriginal heritage documented on the property prior to the excavation.

"Should the developer wish to progress with further ground-disturbing works that may impact Aboriginal heritage, authorisations under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988 would be required," they said.

Arisvi's statement from its lawyer said the matter with RMMAC had been resolved.

"Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation [Department] has determined not to take any further action regarding alleged contraventions of the Aboriginal Heritage Act and has closed its investigation," it said.

Mr Harris said RMMAC had provided Arisvi Holdings with recommendations to protect Aboriginal heritage at the site in the future, in line with the Aboriginal Heritage Act.

He said he could only hope they would be followed.

"[The recommendations] … include potential re-burial, relocation and even just fencing off or excluding areas of the block to protect the cultural heritage there," Mr Harris said.

The exhausted neighbours

Gary and Kerry Twyford have enjoyed a riverside life for years and their home was meant to be their dream retirement location.

But the excavation, reaching within metres of their back deck, had disrupted those plans.

"It's dragged on for four years … [we] can't go through it anymore."

The couple said the surrounding neighbours had all dedicated extensive time, effort and money to seek answers and stop further work from going ahead.

Mr Twyford said he had crunched the numbers, including travel, hiring a lawyer and even hiring a town planner to understand what had happened.

"I would say we wouldn't get much change out of $100,000," Mr Twyford said.

Despite their best efforts, the couple said they felt no-one had been held accountable.

"The whole system has so many loopholes. I don't even know why they have them in place," Mr Twyford said.

Penalties and prosecution

Renmark Paringa Council chief executive Tony Siviour said it initially pursued a criminal prosecution against Arisvi Holdings for the unlawful excavation but later made a financial settlement.

The $150,000 was paid for breaching the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016.

Of that, $100,000 was paid to cover council's legal fees.

"Council intends to use the [remaining $50,000] towards parks, open space, environmental and landscaping works," Mr Siviour said.

Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency SA found breaches of the Environment Protection Act following reports of run-off into the River Murray.

In an August 2022 document, it said the sediment run-off was caused by "development-related activity".

The EPA issued a clean-up order in response.

"Arisvi Holdings was found to have polluted the environment by discharging, or failing to prevent the discharge of sand, clay, gravel and soil from the site into the River Murray," an EPA statement said.

"Thereby caused material environmental harm, namely increased turbidity or sediment levels in the River Murray.

"The company complied with the order and it was lifted in 2024. In the past 12 months no further reports have been made in relation to the site."

While stage one of the application was retrospectively approved in April 2025, an amendment was submitted in May 2026.

This included some minor changes to the location of the two proposed residential pads.

That change is now under review.

The Arisvi response said its current application with the State Planning Commission was "for a variation to its development approval to reduce the level of earthworks."

"Construction works on site have stopped while Arisvi awaits the outcome of the variation application," it said.

Aunty Sheryl Giles says she has been left devastated.

She feels let down by the systems that are meant to protect her ancestors and culture.

"I don't think non-Aboriginal people see the importance of a burial site and the significance to us; they're still our great, great, great grannies," she said.