“It will take place on May 31 and it will be called the Moree Reconciliation Restitution Cemetery Ceremony,” she said.

The 30 year saga has kept Aunty Noeline hard at work at Moree Cemetery, identifying the deceased at the unmarked grave sites.

“There used to be 215 that were unmarked at Moree Cemetery, now there are 176,” she said.

Between 1940 and 1968, deceased Aboriginal people in the Moree community were buried without a headstone. Add the passage of time to a lack of proper grave markings, and Aunty Noeline explained it only became more difficult for visitors to locate a deceased family member.

“This town has withstood more than a dozen floods since 1940, changing the landscape of the cemetery.”

Matching the grave site to the correct name of the deceased was only half the battle, as Aunty Noeline still had to link the deceased to their families.

“The problem with burial records is that they only provide the name of the deceased. How can you make a plaque that says, ‘Here lies this person, child of so and so,’ when you don’t know the names of the parents?”

Aunty Noeline pored over court records to link the name of the deceased to their parents.

“This is why it has taken me so long to get to this point,” she explained.

With all the grave sites identified, the last stage was to design the plaques.

Aunty Noeline recently kick-started an online go-fund-me campaign, in an attempt to raise the necessary funds.

“We managed to raise $5,000 and after paying the fee to run the campaign, we were left with $4,500,” she said.

Donations from community groups and organisations have helped to make up the rest of the money.

“St Pius, Aboriginal Employment Strategy, Edmund Rice Centre and individual sponsors are just some of the donors who have been a big help,” said Aunty Noeline.

The researcher and OAM recipient met with other Aboriginal elders at the Dhiiyaan Aboriginal Centre on Tuesday to iron out details for the final stages.

“I’ve been working so hard that I now need somebody to help me to see this through to the end,” said Aunty Noeline.

The band of elders put their heads together to throw around ideas of the ceremonious day happening later in the year. Although it has yet to be decided who will host the smoking ceremony and which dignitaries will attend, few details are certain.

Gwydir Industries will manufacture the plaques and students from Moree Secondary College and St Philomena’s School Moree will lay them at the site.

“This is when I will ask the elders and teachers of the schools to supervise the children,” said Aunty Noeline.

A marquee and other tents will provide shade on the day for service goers.

“The elders will also get to talk to high school students, teaching them about our history,” said Aunty Noeline.

A wreath laying service will also be held, giving a chance for members to pay their respects.

Although more details have yet to be confirmed, there is one thing everyone can agree on, and that is: this day has been a long time coming.

“It will be very emotional,” said Lloyd Munro Snr.

“I am proud of Noeline and all the work she has done,” added Aunty Edna Craigie.

Aunty Noeline pointed out that many of the elders and members of the Aboriginal community have family members resting in the unmarked graves. She herself, has three siblings.

“One of them, I didn’t even know about until I started researching. It nearly threw me off my chair.”