Then, in June 1992, the years of sacrifice and persuasion came to fruition. This will always be our land. In particular, Roundtable participants lamented the lack of governance skills amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander landholders to successfully engage in business development and to manage their estates. It does not create any new rights, but rather reaffirms the rights that exist in many other international treaties and conventions. Indigenous Education and Research Centre This often presents internal issues for traditional owner groups about how decisions are made and how benefits will be shared and responsibilities exercised. 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. To make agreements. The practical effects of Mabo have, indeed, been mixed, judging by figures from the Koori Mail, a national indigenous-owned newspaper. 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. A lawyer heard the speech and asked . This independence could be realized through greater roles for Indigenous landholders through business, land management and other opportunities. 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. 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. 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. "Koiki was ambitious for himself and for his people." 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. Yet, the first colonialists decided, for commercial reasons, to ignore all that and peddle the view that Aboriginal people were primitive, disorganised, culture-less creatures who deserved no rights over land. Topics are usually less than 2 minutes long. Eddie Koiki Mabo was an advocate of the 1967 Referendum, fighting for equal rights including education. Until Mabo, we had been a forgotten people, even though we knew that we were in the right.". 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. 3. Business development support and succession planning. 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. More Information .We are closed in a box. 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 culture and a people facing devastation. It's the anniversary of a court decision that recognized for . I like words. We leave base camp and start our trek across this vast country. To seek justice we had to speak the words of British law. Some went further, fuelling the hysteria with unsubstantiated claims - Jeff Kennett, then the premier of Victoria, said suburban backyards could be at risk of takeover by Aboriginal people. The former president of Western Australia's Liberal Party, Bill Hassel, said the ruling was greeted with "outrage". In the Shire of . 10. That is the view most widely endorsed by history. To strengthen our democracy as Eddie Mabo strengthened our law. They reflect the period in which they were created and are not the views of the National Archives. eddie began his Journey on changing the rights by Making a speech at a land rights conference at the James Cook University his speech explained the traditional land owners and the inheritance system that . The tools to guide us with a new conversation with Government around the full realization of our rights in relation to land and native title can be found in the UN Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Right to Development. 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. 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. Make an Impact. In a snapshot. 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. [1] It was brought by Eddie Mabo against the State of Queensland and decided on 3 June 1992. AAP. Eddie Mabo was a great hero to the Australian people. He would later describe his time on the island as 'the best time of my life'1. In 1959, he moved to mainland Queensland, working on pearling vessels and as a labourer. Suggested answer: While working as a grounds keeper at James Cook University in Townsville, Eddie learnt about Australian land ownership laws. (2012 lecture transcript), 2011 Presentation by Mr Mick Gooda, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner. First, they ask me to pass on their greetings and their thanks for allowing me on your lands. Up to April 2010, 84 native title cases had been dealt with by the courts, and 854,000 sq km (330,000 sq miles) is now covered by native title determinations. The case presented by Eddie Mabo and the people of Mer successfully proved that Meriam custom and laws are fundamental to their traditional system of ownership and underpin their traditional rights and obligations in relation to land. These things range from various legal and administrative barriers that are placed on us once a native title determination has been made and includes various tax and regulatory standards placed on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in the post determination phase, conflicts between individual and communal property interests and issues arising from the conversion of title. . How might this case shatter the myth of terra nullius? 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. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? 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. From 1973-1983 he established and became director of the Black Community School in Townsville. He is best known for the two court cases that bear his name, Mabo v. Queensland (numbers 1 and 2). 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. That nearly a third of our land mass is Indigenous owned is testament to this. This push for economic independence has sought to move away from models of government dependency and have been premised largely on the use of our land as the basis to achieve this. The decision. We cannot cross the same stream twice. However, the social justice package, which was meant to address compensation for the dispossession of land and the dispersal of the Indigenous population remains unfulfilled.[4]. Mabo: Life of an Island Man is a 1997 Australian documentary film on the life of Indigenous Australian land rights campaigner Eddie Koiki Mabo.. The lack of planning and support for native titleholders to economically develop their land was identified as one of the major failings of the native title system. That's why the legal decision is universally known as "Mabo". Importantly, the Roundtable highlighted that despite previous promises around compensation for historical dispossession, this has not yet materialized. Later in 1992, Mabo was posthumously awarded the Australian Human Rights Medal. We cross rivers and we are changed like the water itself. OM95-26 Mabo Cutting Books 1990-1994 - (2 vols.) In 1959, he moved to mainland Queensland, working on pearling vessels and as a labourer. My people are the Gangulu from the Dawson Valley in Central Queensland. I think much of the dialogue on this issue in Australia has revolved around how to protect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from development as opposed to how to realize our rights to development and the associated benefits that come with it. 2019. The nation remained diminished. 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. Mabo was a Torres Strait islander from Mer (Murray Island), off Australia's north-east coast. This will always be our land. Eddie Mabo's dream had come true; a meeting of minds to address the issue of Aboriginal land . 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]. The golden house of is collapses and the world of becoming ascended.". The new conversation that we need to be having around our rights to land and resources has been captured in the thematic areas I have just spoken about. Love, suffering, hope, justice and truth Eddie Mabo knew about love too. But that's just 11% of Australia's land mass. I walked into the news meeting at the ABC with words. 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. Mabo's credibility as the primary witness for the case was savaged . Eddie Mabo and Gerard Brennan overturned the terra nullius policy and changed Australia forever. The truth: This was his land. Without this foundation, there would be no opportunity for us to access these rights through this unique form of land tenure. Friends we are the First Peoples of this country and we are the oldest living culture in the world because of our ability to adapt to ever changing environments and circumstances. I have previously spoken at length about the importance of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which contains 46 articles on the rights that Indigenous peoples all around the world hold. Another key challenge that came out of the roundtable was the need to improve the capacity of our mobs to have the necessary advocacy; governance and risk management skills to successful engage in business and manage our estates in order to secure the best possible outcomes for our communities. The victory was largely down to one indigenous man called Eddie Mabo. Can I also acknowledge all you here today who have come together to work out how we can access our land, seas and waters easier and quicker, but who have also come to talk to each other about how we can make better use of our estates to make life a little better for the rest of our mob out there. The "fallacy" that Perkins speaks of is the concept of Terra Nullius, land belonging to no-one. "He became a driven man," says his friend and documentary maker, Trevor Graham. But he was wrong. 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 Declaration on the Right to Development was adopted by the General Assembly in 1986. During this time he became involved in community and political organisations, such as the union movement and the 1967 Referendum campaign. A clear theme from the Broome Roundtable revealed a common frustration among many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The Mabo case Records relating to the Mabo case About Eddie Mabo Edward Koiki Mabo was born on 29 June 1936. Thank you Russell for your kind words of introduction. But the . Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice, Copyright Australian Human Rights Commission, http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/JlIndigP/2014/33.pdf, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/property-rights-will-help-economic-development-of-indigenous-australians/story-e6frg6z6-1227365821530, https://www.humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/document/publication/social_justice_native_title_report_2013.pdf, http://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/native-title-report-2008, http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Development/Pages/RealizingaVisionforTransformativeDevelopment.aspx, http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/ALRCRefJl/2009/15.html#FootnoteB6, http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/table-1-human-development-index-and-its-components#a, http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/reports/264/hdr_2003_en_complete.pdf. About 800 kilometers north of Cairns sits the small remote community of Mer (Murray) Island in the crystal blue waters of the Torres Strait. However, it also raised equally relevant issues around the many state and local government land taxes and rates that apply once conversion has taken place. Mabo said was that it is my fathers & grandfather's, grandmother's land, I am related to it, it is my identity. De Rose Hill is a landmark case because it represents a significant moment in time in the native title space. The Mabo decision was handed down on June 3, 1992 in the High Court's grand courtroom in Canberra. The golden house of is of culture and connection, of blood and dreaming, of time immemorial how the golden house of is collapses. Unfortunately, the right to development is not a concept often thought about in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as members of a developed country. The Keating government gave effect to the Mabo decision by introducing the Native Title Act 1993, which facilitated the process of recognising native title. This was apartheid in Australia, not South Africa. 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. 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. And in some cases native title had become a millstone, almost drowning people in a sea of regulation, red tape and process without any semblance of necessary support. This is our land. (2014 lecture transcript), 2013 Presentation by Dr Bryan Keon-Cohen QC. Edward Koiki Mabo ( n Sambo; 29 June 1936 - 21 January 1992) was an Indigenous Australian man from the Torres Strait Islands known for his role in campaigning for Indigenous land rights in Australia, in particular the landmark decision of the High Court of Australia that recognised that indigenous rights to land had continued after the British Typical of such awards, the citations are generally understated and this is particularly so in your case. I stand here proud to bring a message from my Elders. He was another victim of Terra Nullius, like so many of his fellow indigenous people had been before him. Fungibility and native title. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are advised that this site may contain names, images or voices of people who have passed away. (2013 lecture transcript), 2012 Presentation by Professor Henry Reynolds. Mabo died five months earlier from cancer in January 1992, at the age of 55. It is clear that the current system has not delivered what had initially been intended to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 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. the belief that Australia and its islands belonged to no-one when claimed by the British in 1770) in a landmark court . A panel of judges at the High Court ruled that Aboriginal people were the rightful custodians of the land. To Eddie Koiki Mabo and chief justice Sir Gerard Brennan. HOST: Today is Mabo Day. Family gatherings were foregone. He married Bonita, his teenage sweetheart and with whom he had 10 children in a loving partnership that lasted 30 years. On 21 May 2008, James Cook University named its Townsville campus library the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library. 23 Nov 1990 - 21 Oct 1994 Library at the University College of Townsville, Queensland. British law was the law of the colony and usurped and superseded Aboriginal law. 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. In Torres Strait Islands called the Mabo case, for Eddie Mabo, the first-named plaintiff) brought by several individuals that was won in the High Court of Australia in 1992; subsequent cases were also settled in favour of other groups of islanders. For 50 years this embassy has stood as a reminder that we are still here. We need to work alongside government to equip ourselves with the knowledge and skills to turn the economic and commercial aspirations into reality. Volume 1 (227pp), Volume 2 (58pp). "Koiki was ambitious for himself and for his people.". Mabo expressed. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. I'd also like to thank AIATSIS for the invitation to speak today and in doing that can I congratulate you Russell on receiving your recent Member of the Order of Australia award. Eddie Mabo's heritage and culture were major influencers in his rise to prominence. These legal challenges continued into the 20th century rulings maintained the legitimacy of the Crown but could not extinguish completely the Aboriginal claims. 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. Our landsings gently a song of sadness. and in 2008 James Cook University named its Townsville campus library the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library. I have been honoured in the last six weeks by being asked to deliver both the Eddie Koiki Mabo Lecture here today and the Rob Riley Memorial Lecture on Friday the 8th of May in Perth. From 1973-1983 he established and became director of the Black Community School in Townsville. Those cases resulted in the acknowledgment that Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples had the right to claim the land they and their ancestors had lived on for thousands of years. Watch. Mabo 20 years on: did it change the nation? (No. We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.. This case, I said thisman Mabo will change Australia. I honour your Elders that have come before you, those that are here today and I wait in optimistic anticipation for those Elders who are yet to emerge. SPEECH - THURSDAY, 3 JUNE . 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. . Help your class to explore the life of Eddie Mabo with this engaging and educational biography-writing task. And he was right. When the decision overturning Terra Nullius eventually came, the judges referred to the policy as "the darkest aspect of (our) national history" and one that left "a legacy of unutterable shame". 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. (Transcript), 2014 Presentation byMs Shannan Dodson, Digital Campaign Manager, Recognise Australia. Concocted by the early settlers, it was used, systematically, cynically and effectively to deprive the indigenous people of their own land. Finally, the remaining key theme of the meeting was the issue of our right as Indigenous peoples to development. 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. 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. The new Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, says there will be a referendum to enshrine a voice an Indigenous representative body in the Australian constitution. On 3 June 1992, six of the seven High Court judges upheld the claim and ruled that the lands of . Eddie Mabo at James Cook University, early 1980s Series 8. Words like the Uluru Statement from the Heart: We, gathered at the 2017 National Constitutional Convention, coming from all points of the southern sky, make this statement from the heart: Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tribes were the first sovereign Nations of the Australian continent and its adjacent islands, and possessed it under our own laws and customs. When voices within democracies silenced and marginalised are demanding to be heard, we are bringing oursand challenging our democracy to examine itself and for our constitution to be seeded in the first footprints, not just the first settlers. Birthdays, anniversaries, sports events and special schools days were missed. : he world to possession and I emfphasise Opossessions I also acknowledge Meriam PBC Chair Mr Doug Passi. The National Archives holds a diverse array of records relating to the Mabo case. "I think that like many others, I was trying to deal with something that was new, that was undefined," Kennett told The Age newspaper. 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. These adjustments are key if we are to translate our inherent legal rights under native title into sustainable opportunities for our people. Eddie Koiki Sambo was born on June 29, 1936 on the Torres Strait island of Mer, also known as Murray Island. It is a feeling. 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. The court dismissed his challenge to Australian sovereignty, but in his opinion Justice Lionel Murphy rattled the bones of the Australian settlement. " The fall of the golden house of is but not the end. 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. 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. 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. Searching for 'Mabo' in RecordSearch brings up many results, including the files below. The Court also recognised that all Indigenous people in Australia have rights to their land. Resting Place of Eddie Mabo. The great polish poetCzeslawMilosz said perhaps all memory is the memory of wounds. 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. [6] UN Declaration on the Right to Development, Article 1, para 1. The High Court is the highest court in Australia's judicial system. The Mabo decision What is the Mabo decision? The issue of compensation goes to the core of the initial intent of addressing the historical dispossession of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from their lands and waters. 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. The truth: This was his land. 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'. Barrister Ron Castan, Eddie Mabo and barrister Bryan Keon-Cohen at . In some ways our systems of governance is a defining feature of the oldest living culture on this planet. Elders saythe wateris now a battleground. 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. The assumptions were quite erroneous, of course, but Terra Nullius was set in unshakeable motion and stayed rooted in place for two hundred years, even though Aborigines had been in Australia for at least 40,000 years. And in 1981, Eddie was invited by the same university to make a speech about Mer's land inheritance system. Transcript. 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. These barriers all prevent us from using our land to enter into the economy from which we can see ourselves and our communities thrive. On November 16, 1990, after a year of considering the facts of the case, Justice Moynihan delivered his written findings to the High Court of Australia. And that is the cost to both men and their families. Reynolds writes: Others, mainly white opponents, regarded the judgement as a mistake. Land claim, 1981-1992 In 1981, at a conference on indigenous land rights in Townsville, a decision was made to pursue a native land title claim for the people of the Murray Islands in the High Court of Australia. 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. Mr Mabo died in 1992 just months before his 10-year legal battle for native title rights proved successful. Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders in Marine Science, Agriculture Technology and Adoption Centre, Association of Australian University Secretaries, Australian Quantum & Classical Transport Physics Group, Centre for Tropical Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology, Division of Tropical Environments and Societies, Foundation for Australian Literary Studies, IERC Administration and Centre Operations, Torres Strait Islander Research to Policy & Practice Hub, Meriba buay ngalpan wakaythoemamay (We come together to share our thinking), Knowledge Integration for Torres Strait Sustainability: Sey boey wara goeygil nabi yangukudupa, Office of the Vice Chancellor and President, Queensland Research Centre for Peripheral Vascular Disease, Contextual Science for Tropical Coastal Ecosystems, Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine, Recognition, national identity and our future.

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