It is sadness beyond the word sadness itself. At 31, this affrontery became his epiphany. In-text: (Two generations talk about the impact of the 1967 Referendum and the 1992 Mabo Decision, 2019) Your Bibliography: Time Out Sydney. This was our land. Uncle Eddie 'Koiki' Mabo. Watch. This issue of transfer, usability and conversion of title threw up many challenges around how to retain underlying customary title but make it usable in the modern sense. At the 1981 James Cook University Land Rights Conference Eddie Mabo made a passionate speech about land ownership and ancestral inheritance in the Murray Islands. But despite the success of the '67 campaign, in 1972 Eddie Mabo still had to get permission from the Queensland authorities to visit his dying father on Mer Island. Others, while acknowledging the shortcomings of Mabo's long-term legacy, still regard it as a watershed moment in Australian political, cultural and economic life. Overwhelmingly, what participants told us at the Roundtable was that whilst there had been an expansion of the Indigenous estate since the commencement of the Native Title Act that it largely has not delivered sustainable outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. That permission was denied. It felt in this case that the time had come. For 50 years this embassy has stood as a reminder that we are still here. Yindyamarra winanghanha. Short for Mabo and others v Queensland (No 2) (1992), the Mabo case, led by Eddie Koiki Mabo, an activist for the 1967 Referendum, fought the legal concept that Australia and the Torres Strait Islands were not owned by Indigenous peoples because they did not 'use' the land in ways Europeans believed constituted some kind of legal possession. I have heard it at dawn as the earth crackles, the river waters run, and the animals stir as the Sun peers above the hills and the light strikes the trees on my beloved Wiradjuri country. Justice John Willis said: "In Australia it is the colonists not the Aborigines are the foreigners.". It is a feeling. Eddie Koiki Mabo: Land Rights in the Torres Strait I would like to first of all express my sincere thanks to the organizers of this conference: in particular the James Cook University Student Union and the Aboriginal Treaty Committee in Townsville for allowing me to speak at this very important conference. This our ancestors did, according to the reckoning of our culture, from the Creation, according to the common law from "time immemorial", and according to science more than 60,000 years ago. I want to give two words from my people, Wiradjuri. The Mabo case Records relating to the Mabo case About Eddie Mabo Edward Koiki Mabo was born on 29 June 1936. Gail, to your Mum Bonita, to Eddie Junior, Wannee, Bethal, Celuia, Ezra, Mario, Malita, Malcolm, Jessie and to you Gail, can I pay special tribute to for the generosity of you all in giving your husband and Dad to us. The judges satisfied themselves that Aboriginal people had been in Australia first, did have a long, rich culture that denoted civilisation and had voluminous evidence of land demarcation, usage and inheritance, to back up their claims of longevity and history. However the Federal Court found that the South Australian government were liable for an undisclosed amount to the Nguraritja people for parcels of land over which, but for the prior extinguishing acts of government, they would have held native title. The memory of wounds. Strengthening our relationships over lands, territories and resources: the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Climate change from the perspective of the Torres Strait, Beyond Mabo: Native Title and closing the gap, People, identity and place. Text 1936 But alongside . This was apartheid in Australia, not South Africa. Mr Mabo died in 1992 just months before his 10-year legal battle for native title rights proved successful. Sign up for free to create engaging, inspiring, and converting videos with Powtoon. 2023 BBC. We know sadness. Eddie Mabo's legal pursuit of these issues resulted in one of the most significant legal cases in Australian history, in that it completely overturned the idea of terra nullius (land belonging to no-one) and challenged traditionally held beliefs about how Australia came into being, and about ownership of land. This is our land. Stan Grant is the ABC's international affairs analyst and presents China Tonight on Monday at 9:35pm on ABC TV, and Tuesday at 8pm on the ABC News Channel, anda co-presenter of Q+A on Thursday at 8:30pm. From 1973-1983 he established and became director of the Black Community School in Townsville. As Noel Pearson has recently said in relation to this issue: Were moving from a land rights claim phase to a land rights use phase where people are grappling with how we make our land contribute to our development.[3]. Importantly, the Roundtable highlighted that despite previous promises around compensation for historical dispossession, this has not yet materialized. This is our land. [6] UN Declaration on the Right to Development, Article 1, para 1. This Declaration on the Right to Development was adopted by the General Assembly in 1986. When our world is ablaze with conflict. My predecessor Dr Tom Calma explained the impact of never implementing a social justice package in 2008: this abyss is one of the underlying reasons why the native title system is under the strain it is under today[5]. Eddie Koiki Mabo was an advocate of the 1967 Referendum, fighting for equal rights including education. But without warriors such as Eddie, David and James, Rob and countless others, we would not be in the position regarding Indigenous land tenure that we are in today. Hide message. Birthdays, anniversaries, sports events and special schools days were missed. (No. In one, the presiding judge said the mere introduction of British law did not extinguish Aboriginal customary law. Without this foundation, there would be no opportunity for us to access these rights through this unique form of land tenure. This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. In conversations with Commissioner Wilson and others, we are in the midst of developing what the next step in this process should look like and we will continue to engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples such as yourselves in order to do this. In some ways our systems of governance is a defining feature of the oldest living culture on this planet. Eddie Mabo's dream had come true; a meeting of minds to address the issue of Aboriginal land . Ten years later, he conceded his fears were unfounded. Rejected at each turn. The world of becoming ascends. Mabo vs Queensland possible Commonwealth interventions, 1991 (A14039, 7909), The Mabo Decision principles for a response, 1993 (A14217, 1042), Mabo responses to the outline of legislation, 1993 (A14217, 1322), Mabo collection at the National Library of Australia, Building trust in the public record policy, Getting started with information management. He petitioned, campaigned, cajoled and questioned Terra Nullius for 18 years. You and I know all too well that we live shorter, poorer lives than our non-Aboriginal counterparts. AAP. Several cabinet papers from the time of the Mabo decision reflect on its likely ramifications, including: The National Archives of Australia acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of Country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, sea and community. Eddie Mabo would not live to see his final victory, but in that judgement he became immortal. But that hasn't stopped indigenous people, like Queensland elder Douglas Bon, taking great satisfaction in the ruling. To strengthen our democracy as Eddie Mabo strengthened our law. Mabo tells the story of one of Australia's national heroes - Eddie Koiki Mabo, the Torres Strait Islander man who left school at age 15, yet spearheaded the High Court challenge that overthrew the fiction of terra nullius. Les Malezer, chairman of the Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action, is critical of the native title system for its failure to deliver for indigenous people. Participants identified that we need to start considering the role of the financial services industry, as well as agencies such as Indigenous Business Australia and the Indigenous Land Corporation in the context of our economic development. Following his speech, he was approached by a lawyer, who asked if he'd be interested in taking the Australian Government to court to finally decide who owned the land. But that's just 11% of Australia's land mass. No transcript available, 2016 Lecture Presentation by Professor N M Nakata, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Indigenous Education and Strategy, James Cook University (Transcript), 2016 Lecture Presentation by Professor N M Nakata, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Indigenous Education and Strategy, James Cook University (2016 Lecture Transcript), 2015 Presentation by The Hon. His mother passed away shortly after his birth and he was adopted by his maternal Uncle and Aunt, Benny and Maiga Mabo in line with Islander . Nor did the judges intend that it should. Eddie Koiki Mabo: A Meriam man, husband to Bonita Mabo and father to 10 children. At http://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/native-title-report-2008 (viewed 5 June 2015). When democracy is teetering and autocracy is rising. Few Australians then knew the name Eddie Mabo. "For two centuries, the British and then white Australians operated under a fallacy, that somehow Aboriginal people did not exist or have land rights before the first settlers arrived in 1788.". JCU websites use cookies to enhance user experience, analyse site usage, and assist with outreach and enrolment. As this brave mans voice even as he had passed was heard by another man who is now gone and together they changed us. With support from legal experts, Mabo, along with fellow plaintiffs and Murray Islanders Reverend David Passi, Celuia Mapoo Salee, Sam Passi and James Rice, brought a case against the Queensland Government in the High Court. But who was Eddie Mabo, why did he take up what must have seemed like a hopeless cause and what is the legacy of his campaign? Some key principles underpinning this right are: This Declaration centralizes the role of both the individual and government in the development process, arguing for the State to create national policies to properly ensure the development of all individuals. From 1973-1983 he established and became director of the Black Community School in Townsville. [11]Native Title Act 1993 (Cth), preamble. At: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/ALRCRefJl/2009/15.html#FootnoteB6 (viewed 9 June 2015). Promoting Indigenous peoples right to development. [7] OHCHR Website, Essays in Commemoration of 25 years of the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development. In particular, this was raised as a way that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities might be able to leverage finances in order to support economic development opportunities and to improve the capacity of our mobs to best manage these prospects in the future. It was awarded Best Documentary at the Australian Film Institute Awards and the Sydney Film Festival.It also received the Script Writing Award at the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards. Eddie Koiki Mabo (c. 29 June 1936 - 21 January 1992 [1]) was an Australian man from the Torres Strait Islands known for his role in campaigning for Indigenous land rights and for his role in a landmark decision of the High Court of Australia which overturned the legal doctrine of terra nullius ("land belonging to nobody") which characterised Others, mainly white opponents, regarded the judgement as a mistake. A world turning. And he was right. These legal challenges continued into the 20th century rulings maintained the legitimacy of the Crown but could not extinguish completely the Aboriginal claims. I walked into the news meeting at the ABC with words. On 3 June 1992, the High Court of Australia ruled in favour of limited native title. Two words showed something was wrong with the system, After centuries of Murdaugh rule in the Deep South, the family's power ends with a life sentence for murder, Flooding in southern Malaysia forces 40,000 people to flee homes, When Daniel picked up a dropped box on a busy road, he had no idea it would lead to the 'best present ever', Plans to redevelop 'eyesore' on prime riverside land fall apart as billionaires exit, Labor's pledge for mega koala park in south-west Sydney welcomed by conservation groups, Tom Sizemore, Saving Private Ryan actor, dies aged 61. Overwhelmingly, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have indicated that it is time for a new process of engagement to occur with the government on the topic of our rights after native title. You Murray Islanders have won that court case. The commitment to a land fund; and importantly, participation in decision-making underpinned by the concept of free, prior and informed consent and good faith. They can raise us to anger then soothe us. Judged by any civilised standard, such a law is unjust ". Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that this resource and resource page may contain the image, name or voice of deceased persons. The preamble to the Native Title Act makes it clear that the objectives of the legislation are to: rectify the consequences of past injustices by the special measures contained in the Act to ensure that Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders receive the full recognition and status within the Australian nation to which history, their prior rights and interests, and their rich and diverse culture, fully entitle them to aspire.[11]. One of the people who attended the conference, a lawyer, suggested they should make a case to claim land rights through the court system. The Roundtable was held after there was significant interest on this issue when Commissioner Wilson and I undertook some consultations around the country last year. Born on 29 June 1936 in his village of Las on the island of Mer in the Torres Strait, Eddie Koiki Mabo was the fourth child of Robert Zesou Sambo and Poipe (Sambo) Mabo. This sovereignty is a spiritual notion: the ancestral tie between the land, or "mother nature", and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who were born therefrom, remain attached thereto, and must one day return thither to be united with our ancestors. People gathered this week in Townsville, Queensland, to remember a seminal moment in the nation's history, and the efforts of one man to bring it about. We are currently not sharing in the developmental prosperity for which Australia is known. They claimed that Murray Island (Mer) and surrounding islands and reefs had been continuously inhabited and exclusively possessed by the Meriam people . The conference, 'Land Rights and the Future of Australian Race Relations', was sponsored by the Townsville Treaty Committee and the James Cook University's Student Union. Mabo expressed disbelief and shock. Why Alex Murdaugh was spared the death penalty, Why Trudeau is facing calls for a public inquiry, The shocking legacy of the Dutch 'Hunger Winter', Why half of India's urban women stay at home. A clear theme from the Broome Roundtable revealed a common frustration among many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.