The practices of burial within family groups and active tending of gravesites continued despite the invasion of Europeans and accompanying disruption of traditional culture.

[1][2]: 3 The establishment of an Aboriginal camp on a lagoon east of Collarenebri led to the development of a burial ground in which the local people could maintain the graves of departed loved ones.

[2]: 5  Rituals of mourning practiced at Collarenebri include the elaborate process of burning and shattering glass bottles to provide covering and decoration for the graves.

"They are left for an hour or so, then removed with a long handled shovel and then quickly plunged into cold water, so that the glass crazes with tiny internal cracks.

Isabel described it as "crystalising" and this sense of turning ordinary glass into something special, an alchemy which makes it into "crystal" conveys the beautiful effect and intention.

Only then are the bottles carefully placed between hessian bags and struck to break them into regular pieces, large or small depending on each family's preference, and packed densely onto the top of the grave.

When regularly maintained and replenished, the glass forms an impenetrable cover, keeping weeds from growing on the grave and protecting it from disturbance by animals or weather.

Long before her death community leader Isabel Flick and her partner Ted Thorne determined that they would be buried "just beyond the "strangers" place".

The cemetery is fenced and contains a large number of graves which are generally decorated with shattered glass and objects relevant to the lives and interests of the persons remembered there.

The item is of state heritage significance as a fine, representative example of the process in which a marginalised Aboriginal community has been able to maintain traditions and develop new ways to memorialise death.

[1] Collarenebri Aboriginal Cemetery was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 19 December 2014 having satisfied the following criteria.

The item is l of local heritage significance as it has been used by the Murri's of Collarenebri as a burial ground since 1907 when baby Hyrum Mundy was buried there.

The cemetery is of state heritage significance for its aesthetic qualities, being the most intact demonstration of a technique of grave decoration and remembrance that is unique to north-west NSW.

The technique of making "crystalled" glass to form the particular shattered effect is a creative innovation that results in a distinctive and eyecatching grave decoration that has landmark qualities.

The cemetery and its beautifully decorated graves provide evidence of the complex development of a living, traditionally-based culture which is continuously evolving.

Through the layout of the graves, the use of "crystalled" glass and ongoing practice of preparing glass for grave decoration, the item provides unique and clear opportunities to demonstrate burial practices that reflect the melding of traditional Aboriginal culture and technology with newmaterials imported by European settlers[1] The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.

The Collarenebri Aboriginal Cemetery is of state heritage significance as it is the most intact of one of only six sites in NSW in which the use of "crystalleded" glass has been recorded.

[1] It is also locally significant as it is representative of the resilience of the Murri community of Collarenerbrri which has claimed the place as its own and is actively managing it for the future.