He said: “The smoking ceremony is an ancient tradition which calls upon the spirits to come and clear away any bad spirits that are hanging around.

“It’s very important for the life of my tribal group to get the bodies of their loved ones returned.

“We’re glad that our Federal government is supporting this move and helping us have discussions with institutions in Britain about returning other remains.

“It is the goodwill of the British people that can support us in this activity.”

The Ngarrindjeri (meaning The People) is a group of 18 clans who speak similar dialects and have family connections around the lower Murray River, western Fleurieu Peninsula and Coorong, South Australia.

The remains are believed to be of mixed Australian and European ancestry.

None have been on public display, or been used for research or educational purposes.

Dates for the return for the other two held by NML have yet to be fixed.

They will be returned after consultations have taken place with the Australian indigenous communities from the areas where they originated.

NML director Dr David Fleming said: “These are relics from an era in the 19th century when museums thought it was acceptable to bring back bodies from European adventures to put on display.

“This would be considered completely unthinkable today.”

Click here to see our picture gallery of the ceremony