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No human remains have been found at the site of the former Ballarat Orphanage with police now finished at the site.
Investigators have spent the past week excavating the site relating to an allegation bodies may have been buried there prior to its closure in 1968.
However, no human remains have been found no further police activity will occur at the site and investigation is no considered complete.
EARLIER:
POLICE are still combing the Ballarat orphanage site looking for possible human remains and are yet to discover anything of interest.
However, police declined to answer questions from The Courier about the works or about how long they may be working at the site.
It is still unknown what type of service testing was conducted which led to this week’s escalation of searching the site and what that testing found.
Work showed no sign of slowing down on Thursday, focusing on two specific sections of the dig site.
The rumours of bodies being buried at the site were first publicly raised in 2013.
On Wednesday, Ballarat Superintendent Andrew Allen said it was too hard to say how long the search would go on for.
“It’s been a process since 2013 and it’s been a matter of going through a legal framework and identifying what (the) location (of the bodies) might be,” Superintendent Allen said.
“There was some previous testing done at the site which led us to commencing the excavation in the last couple of days.”
Two sisters who first raised the possibility there may be bodies on the site told The Courier they were certain human remains would be found.
Aunty Phylis Read and Aunty Edith Orr spoke of abuse at the facility and also the disappearances of a number of children.
The pair said they made a promise to the children at the age of six to look after them and bring the issue to light.
“I made a promise to my brothers and sisters,” Ms Read said.
“I will never break that promise.”
Ms Read said they had been constantly returning and keeping a vigil at the site for a number of years.
The Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, Office of Aboriginal Affairs and Victoria Police forensic specialists have been on the scene.
matthew.dixon@fairfaxmedia.com.au