He was another victim of Terra Nullius, like so many of his fellow indigenous people had been before him. Mabo/The Man/Land Rights Conference 2006 Presentation by Professor Larissa Behrendt. 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. Eternal. I have heard many stories from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and Traditional Owners about the many barriers they face in reaching their potential benefits under land rights and native title. B12 of 1982 in the High Court of Australia). Read about our approach to external linking. The victory was largely down to one indigenous man called Eddie Mabo. Eddie Koiki Mabo Lecture Series. This was apartheid in Australia, not South Africa. I walked into the news meeting at the ABC with words. Transcript. 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. 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. Eddie Mabo, the man who changed Australia - BBC News Of invasion. Husband, father, grandfather, mate, advocate, achiever, Principal and mentor. Our landsings gently a song of sadness. This will always be our land. 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. This achievement certainly encourages me. Yindyamarra is respect: It is quiet, it is humble. A panel of judges at the High Court ruled that Aboriginal people were the rightful custodians of the land. First, they ask me to pass on their greetings and their thanks for allowing me on your lands. Their hard fought battle against the Queensland government finally consigned the lie of terra nullius to the historical dustbin and recognised the unique rights that we hold as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to our traditional land and waters. Mabo rejected the more militant direct action tactics of the land rights movement, seeing the most important goal as being to destroy the legal justification for what he regarded as land theft. Mabo and his fellow plaintiff's fought for land on Mer - their ancestral gardens and home. It felt in this case that the time had come. That nearly a third of our land mass is Indigenous owned is testament to this. The golden house of is collapses and the world of becoming ascended.". The Court also recognised that all Indigenous people in Australia have rights to their land. The Murray Islands Mabo v Queensland (No 2) (commonly known as the Mabo case or simply Mabo) is a landmark decision of the High Court of Australia that recognised the existence of Native Title in Australia. 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. For the love of his family and tradition, he fights for his land on Murray Island. "If ever a system could be called a government of laws," he said, "it is shown in the evidence before me.". There was scepticism, even cynicism, but I was able to report the story. Bonita 'Netta' Mabo: Eddie's wife and is a resourceful, supportive and loving woman. Eddie Koiki Mabo presents a guest lecture about the Torres - YouTube Ten years before, Eddie Koiki Mabo and his comrades started the legal battle for the recognition of the Meriam people and the ownership of Mer Island. We cross rivers and we are changed like the water itself. Resting Place of Eddie Mabo. Hide message. Powtoon - Eddie Mabo It is clear that we have seen a change in momentum as far as this space is concerned. Eddie Mabo was a Torres Strait Islander activist. Transcript notes - MABO, Eddie, RICE, James v State of Queensland and Commonwealth of Australia, ITM1641344 He told them of his dream of ending his days on Murray Island, on the ancestral land that had been handed down through his family for 15 generations. Eddie Koiki Sambo was born on June 29, 1936 on the Torres Strait island of Mer, also known as Murray Island. In 1959, he moved to mainland Queensland, working on pearling vessels and as a labourer. 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. OM95-26 Mabo Cutting Books 1990-1994 - (2 vols.) The issue of compensation for unfinished business was another key theme of the Roundtable. As a nation, this is an improvement from fourth position just over ten years ago in 2003.[10]. Eddie Mabo Speech Essay - studyscroll.com The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Mabo Day occurs annually in Australia on 3rd June. "He became a driven man," says his friend and documentary maker, Trevor Graham. Eddie Mabo (left) and . 1h 43m. At: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/property-rights-will-help-economic-development-of-indigenous-australians/story-e6frg6z6-1227365821530 (viewed 3 June 2015), [4] T Calma, Native Title Report 2005, Australian Human Rights Commission, 2005, p82. It's the anniversary of a court decision that recognized for . We will adapt, we will take advantage of these opportunities and we will leave a great legacy. I also acknowledge the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Nigel Scullion who is here today and my colleague Tim Wilson, our Australian Human Rights Commissioner. But he was wrong. This activity encourages children to write down their knowledge in a structured report . Towards Reconciliation: The 1967 Referendum and Mabo Milosz wrote into the horror of the 20th century as he saw war all around him. "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.". The 50-minute recording shows Koiki Mabo talking about the history of the Torres Strait Islander community, both in the Torres Strait and on the Australian mainland, and the long term impact on his culture of the coming of Europeans, from the first missionaries to current government administrators. A decade later, I was a young reporter still in my early 20s, finding my way into the foreign world of journalism when I saw a listing for a case at the High Court. Three bound volumes regarding the determination of a reference from the High Court of Australia of the factual issues raised in the action by Eddie Mabo and others - prepared by Justice Moynihan. At 31, this affrontery became his epiphany. As Kevin Mason divedin the ocean, a compliance officer waswatching on the cliffs above. "The golden house of is collapses. He immediately saw the injustice of it and from then on dedicated his life to reversing it. Friendship with Eddie Mabo. Nor did the judges intend that it should. SPEECH - THURSDAY, 3 JUNE . However, in the lead-up to these hearings, the Parliament of Queensland passed the Queensland Coast Islands Declaratory Act 1985, which asserted that, upon being annexed by the Queensland Government in 1879, 'the islands were vested in the Crown freed from all other rights, interests and claims'. A world turning. Only land such as vacant crown land, national parks and some leased land, can be subject to claims by the Aboriginal owners. Mabo 20 years on: did it change the nation? He also co-operated with members of the Communist Party, the only white political party to support Aboriginal campaigns at the time. He knew about suffering. And he knew truth. Bibliography - History bibliographies - Cite This For Me Mabo v Queensland (No 1) was heard in 1986and 1988. Sign up for free to create engaging, inspiring, and converting videos with Powtoon. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that the National Archives' website and collection contain the names, images and voices of people who have died. In 1994 the Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA) was established in response to Read More He is best known for the two court cases that bear his name, Mabo v. Queensland (numbers 1 and 2). It is clear that the current system has not delivered what had initially been intended to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We are currently not sharing in the developmental prosperity for which Australia is known. This will always be our land. This link is the basis of the ownership of the soil, or better, of sovereignty., "This is the torment of our powerlessness.". The Mabo decision was named after Eddie Mabo, the Eddie Koiki Mabo presents a guest lecture about the Torres Strait Islander community 2,837 views Nov 18, 2020 51 Dislike Share Save JCU Library 451 subscribers This short video is an excerpt. Rob was at the forefront of the fight for land in Western Australia, particularly at Nookanbah and when the WA Government led the resistance to national land rights legislation. Despite the fact that the challenge of gaining native title is still a fight that many of us share, there has been a shift in focus now and we have started to see a gradual change in terms of ownership. Other forms of recognition have been added. Importantly, development is also a process through which other human rights can be realized and our wellbeing alongside all other populations is maximised. Rejected at each turn. I also acknowledge Meriam PBC Chair Mr Doug Passi. So today it is indeed an honour for both my people and myself to be presenting this year's Edward Koiki Mabo Lecture. That is the view most widely endorsed by history. Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? In some ways our systems of governance is a defining feature of the oldest living culture on this planet. He was, if you like, an Australian Nelson Mandela, someone who led his people in a struggle against incalculable odds, to what was rightfully theirs. 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. 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. The truth: This was his land. In my tribute to Rob, I mentioned how losing that fight for national land rights lit the fires for what was to become the fight for native title led by Eddie, with Rob being part of the leadership that negotiated the Native Title Act through the national parliament to give legislative effect to the High Court decision championed by Eddie. The Keating government gave effect to the Mabo decision by introducing the Native Title Act 1993, which facilitated the process of recognising native title. He's recorded as saying: "No way, it's not theirs, it's ours." A Yolngu word meaning to come together after a struggle. Eddie Mabo was a man of courage and principle who fought for the inherent rights of the Meriam people, and ultimately for the rights of all Torres Strait Islanders and Aboriginal peoples. During this time he enrolled as a student and studied teaching at the College of Advanced Education, which later amalgamated with JCU. The National Archives holds a diverse array of records relating to the Mabo case. In that book he argued, contrary to theories of Charles Darwin, that it was not the fittest or the strongest nor the smartest that survive but those who can manage change, that is it is the most adaptable who survive. "Quite simply, Eddie Mabo brought an end to a two-centuries-old lie," says Rachel Perkins, director and inspiration behind the new movie, Mabo, released to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the historic High Court case. In 1982, along with four other Meriam people from Murray Island, he initiated legal proceedings in the Queensland Supreme Court claiming customary ownership of their lands on Murray Island. And he was right. While he believed the Murray Island belonged to the Torres Strait Islander people, Australian law stated that the Government owned the land. What Exactly Is 'Mabo Day' And Why Is June 3 Such An - ELLE Eddie Mabo - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Mabo/Eddie Mabo's address to Land Rights Conference, 1981 He married Bonita, his teenage sweetheart and with whom he had 10 children in a loving partnership that lasted 30 years. 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. In the context of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Governments have committed themselves to the economic development of our communities. That was Eddie Mabos gift. This is an edited extract of the 2022 Mabo Lecture, delivered by Stan Grant on June 3, 2022, to commemorate 30 years since the Mabo decision. "The High Court, which is not elected by anybody, not accountable to anybody, had presumed to move into the legislative area to make a whole new law," he said. "I think that like many others, I was trying to deal with something that was new, that was undefined," Kennett told The Age newspaper. Here we are 30 years later, still on that journey. Mabo vs QLD - Stories from the Archives Until that day, the legal fiction of terra nullius, the land belonging to no-one, had characterised Australian law and land titles since the voyage of Captain Cook. Mabo Day & Native Title: Who was Eddie Mabo & what is his legacy (2012) This program was published 2 years ago. the belief that Australia and its islands belonged to no-one when claimed by the British in 1770) in a landmark court . 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 ruled that the Mabo decision in no way challenges the legality of non-Aboriginal land tenure. In 1979 Wiradjuri man and law student Paul Coewalked the path that Eddie Mabo would follow all the way to the High Court of Australia. Until Mabo, we had been a forgotten people, even though we knew that we were in the right.". [1] It was brought by Eddie Mabo against the State of Queensland and decided on 3 June 1992. We did not end. Governance has always been at the core of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and our community life. [9] UN Development Programme, Human Development Index, UN Human Development Report. To strengthen our democracy as Eddie Mabo strengthened our law. "The rights he won in the High Court have been eroded away by government, courts and socio-economic pressure.". In 1981, Eddie Mabo made a speech at James Cook University in Queensland, where he explained his people's beliefs about the ownership and inheritance of land on Mer. Eddie Mabo of Mer island in the Torres Strait spent a decade seeking official recognition of his people's ownership of Mer and on 3 June 1992, the High Court of Australia agreed, rejecting the doctrine that Australia was terra nullius (land belonging to no-one) at the time of European settlement. Eddie Mabo was a staff member at JCU, working as a groundsman from 1967 to 1971. A lawyer heard the speech and asked . Searching for 'Mabo' in RecordSearch brings up many results, including the files below. It remains a collection of canvas and tin, but it has grown in those years since a handful of young Aboriginal activists planted a beach umbrella and wrote the word Embassy on a manila folder, to shake a fist at the power on the hill. Mabo Day & Native Title: Who was Eddie Mabo & what is his legacy? Mabo said was that it is my fathers & grandfather's, grandmother's land, I am related to it, it is my identity. AAP. It commemoratesEdward (Eddie) Koiki Mabo (1936-1992), a Torres Strait Islander whose campaign for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land rights led to a landmark decision in the High Court of Australia on 3rd June 1992 that overturned the legal fiction of terra nullius, which had characterised Australian law with respect to land and title since the voyage of Captain James Cook in 1770. This is yet another reason why a development approach is so urgently needed. Eddie Mabo: It was written in the stars | NITV It was suggested that we, as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, needed to think outside of the box when it comes to this issue. He spoke of impermanence: He knew things did not last and yet we do. It is short for Mabo and others v Queensland (No 2) (1992). He was a Meriam man and grew up on Mer, part of the Murray Island Group in the Torres Strait. Henry Reynolds (historian) - Wikipedia The words are carefully chosen to sit alongside each other withjust the right length and the right tone, each one setting up the other and chosen for both meaning and music. They both endured early hard lives that steeled them for the struggles that would eventually come their way. Of law. In 1982, Eddie Mabo and four others began action seeking a legal declaratcion of their traditional land rights in the Murray islands of the Torres Strait, Tvn years later onL 3 June 1992, the High Court decided that his people were entitled as against the whole of ! Text 1936 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. Aunty Clara Ogleby, I begin by acknowledging and paying my respects to the Kuku Yalanji people, Traditional Owners of the place upon which we sit and talk today. In the Shire of . Volume 1 (227pp), Volume 2 (58pp). 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. The Mabo Case | AIATSIS It does not create any new rights, but rather reaffirms the rights that exist in many other international treaties and conventions. Promoting Indigenous peoples right to development. Barrister Ron Castan, Eddie Mabo and barrister Bryan Keon-Cohen at . 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. I was there as a young associate working for a judge, and saw the jubilation and relief of . As this brave mans voice even as he had passed was heard by another man who is now gone and together they changed us. That word is emblazoned still at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy on the lawns of the Old Parliament House in Canberra. 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. 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 . [10] UN Development Programme, Human Development Index, UN Human Development Report, p237. As much as Australias law tried to tell him he was wrong, he knew his law and he knew that even the law of Britain that had stolen this land had to admit finally admit what we all knew, what Eddie Mabo knew. The nation remained diminished. The memory of wounds. The Mabo verdict was arguably the most significant court ruling in the history of Indigenous Australia, overturning the concept of terra nullius and paving the way for native title. In a snapshot. 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. At http://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/native-title-report-2008 (viewed 5 June 2015). For 50 years this embassy has stood as a reminder that we are still here. His mother passed away shortly after his birth and he was adopted by his Uncle Benny and Aunty Maigo Mabo in line with Islander custom. . But we know that these scales do not capture the social disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. At: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/ALRCRefJl/2009/15.html#FootnoteB6 (viewed 9 June 2015). Finally, the remaining key theme of the meeting was the issue of our right as Indigenous peoples to development. Eddie Mabo Facts for Kids - Kiddle For significant service to the community as a cultural leader and public sector executive in the field of Indigenous affairs.. Eddie Mabo's dream had come true; a meeting of minds to address the issue of Aboriginal land . Mabo/Mer Eddie Mabo and Gerard Brennan overturned the terra nullius policy and changed Australia forever. They then said to tell you they are aware of your continued fight for your culture and your country and salute you for your ongoing struggle. How might this case shatter the myth of terra nullius? Mabo: Always was, always will be First Nations land Eddie Mabo had challenged the very ideological establishment of Australia and the first Australians. Reynolds struck up a friendship with Eddie Mabo, who was then a groundsman and gardener at James Cook University. This was our land. The Mabo decision What is the Mabo decision? Eddie Koiki Mabo died of cancer on 21 January 1991, before the case was resolved. Uncle Edward 'Koiki' Mabo was born in 1936, in Las on the island of Mer (Murray Island) in the Torres Strait to 'Robert' Zesou Sambo and 'Annie' Poipe, ne Mabo.