Can I be indulgent and add a couple of others. Read about our approach to external linking. Ten years later, he conceded his fears were unfounded. This will always be our land. 10. The Roundtable included a diverse range of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, with nearly 50 people in total from as far and wide as the Torres Straits, the Gulf of Carpentaria, Cape York, Sydney, the Kimberley and Darwin. 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. The nation remained diminished. But we know that these scales do not capture the social disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 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? The golden house of is collapses and the world of becoming ascended.". The Mabo Case Eddie Mabo is widely known for his plight to regain land rights for both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. According to accounts of the conversation, the two scholarly figures looked at each other and then, delicately, told Mabo that he didn't own the land and that it was Crown land. 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. Mabo: Life of an Island Man is a 1997 Australian documentary film on the life of Indigenous Australian land rights campaigner Eddie Koiki Mabo.. Mabo/Eddie Mabo's address to Land Rights Conference, 1981 A human rights based approach has been a key part of advocacy of all Social Justice Commissioners. (No. But alongside . 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. I believe that it is this framework that has the power to elevate the aspirations that we have as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in relation to land. He had refused to surrender his interests, or those of his people, to the domination of others. And he knew truth. To sign treaties. Judged by any civilised standard, such a law is unjust ". A world turning. And he was right. A culture and a people facing devastation. Mabo died five months earlier from cancer in January 1992, at the age of 55. It does not create any new rights, but rather reaffirms the rights that exist in many other international treaties and conventions. The great polish poetCzeslawMilosz said perhaps all memory is the memory of wounds. In 1994 the Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA) was established in response to Read More The earliest papers on the Murray Island land claim are a manuscript and typescript of a speech by Mabo at the Land Rights and Future of Australian Race Relations Conference at James Cook University in 1981. Eddie Mabo was a Torres Strait Islander activist. Twenty three years after the Mabo decision we are going through another adaption as we talk about how we can start to enjoy the benefits that come from land ownership in the same way that is open to all other Australians, without compromising our unique rights as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Words like han. This independence could be realized through greater roles for Indigenous landholders through business, land management and other opportunities. Mabo's credibility as the primary witness for the case was savaged . British law was the law of the colony and usurped and superseded Aboriginal law. Prime Minister Paul Keating's address to - naa.gov.au What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? 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'. Volume 3 (146pp). Six weeks later his father died. "If ever a system could be called a government of laws," he said, "it is shown in the evidence before me.". 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. 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. Born in 1936, Mabo started life like so many other indigenous people, deprived of a meaningful education, denied access to whites-only buses, cinemas, even toilets. . Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that this resource and resource page may contain the image, name or voice of deceased persons. 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. We know sadness. Justice Blackburn ruled Australia was indeed a "settled colony", that this was"desert and uncultivated". However, most importantly of all, we are now faced with the challenge of how to make the most of our rights to land and native title once we have them, for our prosperity and sustainability. A fair go in an age of terror: countering the terrorist threat to human rights and the Australian identity, Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, Bachelor of Engineering / Science (Honours), Master of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Bachelor of Nursing Science [Pre-Registration], Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science (Honours), Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours), Master of Public Health - Global Development, Master of Social Work (Professional Qualifying), Master of Teaching and Learning (Primary), Master of Teaching and Learning (Secondary), Master of Conflict Management & Resolution, Graduate Certificate of Conflict Management & Resolution, Master of International Tourism & Hospitality Management, Bachelor of Business & Environmental Science, Diploma of Higher Education Majoring in Business Studies, Diploma of Higher Education Majoring in Engineering and Applied Science, Diploma of Higher Education Majoring in General Studies, Diploma of Higher Education Majoring in Health, Diploma of Higher Education Majoring in Information Technology, Diploma of Higher Education Majoring in Science, Diploma of Higher Education, Majoring in Society and Culture, Bachelor of Business & Psychological Science, Bachelor of Sport & Exercise Science - Bachelor of Psychological Science, Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) & Information Technology, Get Into University Courses with a Low ATAR. SPEECH - THURSDAY, 3 JUNE . The Mabo case Records relating to the Mabo case About Eddie Mabo Edward Koiki Mabo was born on 29 June 1936. Watch. These legal challenges continued into the 20th century rulings maintained the legitimacy of the Crown but could not extinguish completely the Aboriginal claims. These skills will enable us to make better and informed decisions for maximum benefit and I look forward, as I am sure you do, to the release of IBAs investment principles, which they are currently developing in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and organisations across the country. Eddie Mabo, the man behind Mabo Day | Indigenous.gov.au So, in many ways, the victory has been more symbolic than practical. According to his daughter Gail Mabo, it 'fuelled his determination for recognition and equality in society'. "The rights he won in the High Court have been eroded away by government, courts and socio-economic pressure.". The judge's four hundred page report presented Mabo and his barristers with a bombshell which threatened to sink their case. Eddie Mabo (left) and . Eddie Koiki Mabo Lecture Series - IERC - JCU Australia On this great day, I, Prime Minister of Australia, speak to you on behalf of the Australian people all those who honour and love this land we live in. Mabo decision | National Museum of Australia 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. A panel of judges at the High Court ruled that Aboriginal people were the rightful custodians of the land. But he had to find words to speak a deeper truth even as he upheld the myth of terra nullius that Aboriginal people, he said, had a "subtle and elaborate system of law". Words. You and I know all too well that we live shorter, poorer lives than our non-Aboriginal counterparts. Mabo decision | Australia's Defining Moments Digital Classroom 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. As Eddie Mabo sketched out his plans to shake the foundations of Australian law, he told his daughter his prophecy: "One day, all of Australia will know my name." But that's just 11% of Australia's land mass. In some ways our systems of governance is a defining feature of the oldest living culture on this planet. Until Mabo, we had been a forgotten people, even though we knew that we were in the right.". As this brave mans voice even as he had passed was heard by another man who is now gone and together they changed us. Edward 'Koiki' Mabo (1936-1992), Torres Strait Islander community leader and land rights campaigner, was born on 29 June 1936 at Las, on Mer, in the Murray group of islands, Queensland, the fourth surviving child of Murray Islands-born parents 'Robert' Zesou Sambo, seaman, and his wife 'Annie' Poipe, ne Mabo. Thank you Russell for your kind words of introduction. Mabo was a Torres Strait islander from Mer (Murray Island), off Australia's north-east coast. However, whilst the right to development is about improvements in economic and material outcomes, it is also about our rights as Indigenous peoples to self-determination and our rights to control our natural wealth and resources. I like how the words create a rhythm. Mabo and his fellow plaintiff's fought for land on Mer - their ancestral gardens and home. I want to begin by honouring and quoting the words of the now late chief justice of the High Court of Australia, Sir Gerard Brennan,the words he wrote in his lead judgement in the Mabo case: The common law itself took from Indigenous inhabitants any right to occupy their traditional land, exposed them to deprivation of the religious, cultural and economic sustenance which the land provides, vested the land effectively in the control of the imperial authorities without any right to compensation and made the Indigenous inhabitants intruders in their own homes and mendicants for a place to live. 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. A lawyer heard the speech and asked Eddie if he would like to challenge the Australian Government in the court system, to decide who the true owner of the land on Mer was, his . In fact, the court went to considerable lengths to establish that the impact of its judgment will be minimal on non-Aboriginal Australians. Husband, father, grandfather, mate, advocate, achiever, Principal and mentor. Mabo v State of Queensland | State Library of Queensland In going down this track we have to understand and have to get these institutions to understand that there is a fair dinkum business case for doing this because we have had enough of welfare and charity. "From self-respect comes dignity, and from dignity comes hope": Meeting Fungibility and native title. Mabo - as in Eddie Mabo, who famously fought a winning fight against the legal doctrine of terra nullius to enshrine Aboriginal land rights in law - is referenced on two occasions. This achievement certainly encourages me. When I looked over the lives of these two great Australians I was struck by the similarities of their struggles and the qualities they each . On 3 June 1992 the High Court of Australia ruled that a group of Torres Strait Islander people, led by Eddie Mabo, owned the island of Mer (Murray Island). Mabo ended up on the mainland working a number of jobs, including labouring on the railways. There were three key components to this: As you will know, the first two of these three components have been implemented, with varying degrees of success and impact on our communities over the years. They both endured early hard lives that steeled them for the struggles that would eventually come their way. British law under a British flag. The most important revelation arising from Eddie Mabo's claim and the High Court's decision was that an ancient title connected to the traditional occupation of the land by Aboriginal and Islander people had survived the . We go on, he said, ever, ever, ever on. 2006 Presentation by Professor Larissa Behrendt. Insight into the significance of Mabo Day for Aboriginal and Torres Australia owes you a great debt. During this time he enrolled as a student and studied teaching at the College of Advanced Education, which later amalgamated with JCU. The truth: This was his land. 2004 Presentation by Fr Frank Brennan SJ AO. This is our land. We cross rivers and we are changed like the water itself. Alex Murdaugh jailed for life for double murder, Why the disgraced lawyer was spared death penalty, Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore dies at 61, The children left behind in Cuba's mass exodus, Xi Jinping's power grab - and why it matters, Snow, Fire and Lights: Photos of the Week. On 3 June 1992, six of the seven High Court judges upheld the claim and ruled that the lands of . The memory of wounds. Mabo Day & Native Title: Who was Eddie Mabo & what is his legacy? OM95-26 Mabo Cutting Books 1990-1994 - (2 vols.) But it was a bittersweet moment for the indigenous population. It was through his association with JCU humanities and education staff, Professor Henry Reynolds and Associate Professor Noel Loos, that Eddie became interested in who owned the land on which his people lived, and in Native Title. He is best known for the two court cases that bear his name, Mabo v. Queensland (numbers 1 and 2). The issue of compensation for unfinished business was another key theme of the Roundtable. Mabo 20 years on: did it change the nation? This was apartheid in Australia, not South Africa. That was Eddie Mabos gift. 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. Then, in June 1992, the years of sacrifice and persuasion came to fruition. 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. More information. He was a Meriam man and grew up on Mer, part of the Murray Island Group in the Torres Strait. Tenacity, fearlessness, fearsome, tireless are some of the words that come to mind when the names Rob Riley and Eddie Mabo are mentioned. 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. Top 10 Amazing Facts about Eddie Mabo - Discover Walks Blog 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. And he knew truth. They reflect the period in which they were created and are not the views of the National Archives. 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.