The names of 126 people have been made public by Tasmania’s Coroner’s Court after it was revealed that a museum may have kept body parts without their families’ knowledge or consent.
An investigation was launched in April 2024 after the R. A. Rodda Museum of Pathology at the University of Tasmania flagged that some specimens from old coronial autopsies might still be in storage.
The remains are from both adults and children who died between the mid-1960s and mid-1980s.
Most of them lived in southern Tasmania, though some were from the north and north-west and one was from Christchurch, New Zealand.
The investigation initially suggested that the practice of specimen collection began in 1953 and stopped in 1985, involving a total of 147 people.
The autopsies were conducted as part of investigations into sudden deaths or deaths in custody or care.
The university has previously confirmed the specimens in question are securely stored and not on public display. Access to them is limited to health professionals and relevant students.
Families of those named are being urged to contact the Coroner’s Court to assist with the inquiry.
