Rejected at each turn. We acknowledge Aboriginal People and Torres Strait Islander People as the first inhabitants of the nation, and acknowledge Traditional Custodians of the Australian lands where our staff and students live, learn and work. Eddie Mabo was heartbroken and never forgave government authorities. That is, after 20 years of operation, we finally saw the first time compensation had been awarded for the extinguishment of native title rights and interests under the Native Title Act. 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. De Rose Hill is a landmark case because it represents a significant moment in time in the native title space. 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. Older articles are being reviewed with a view to bringing them into line with contemporary values but the original text will remain available for historical context. 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. In some ways our systems of governance is a defining feature of the oldest living culture on this planet. 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 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. His mother died during childbirth and he was raised by his mother's brother, Benny Mabo . The victory was largely down to one indigenous man called Eddie Mabo. Mabo ended up on the mainland working a number of jobs, including labouring on the railways. 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. Even though these rights have been watered down over the years, they have enabled us to reach a point where we now own nearly a third of the entire Australian continent and I am told approximately 54% of places like the Northern Territory. And he knew truth. But he was wrong. British law was the law of the colony and usurped and superseded Aboriginal law. But the . This dispossession occurred largely without compensation, and successive governments have failed to reach a lasting and equitable agreement with Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders concerning the use of their lands.[12]. 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. 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. Eddie Mabo was a staff member at JCU, working as a groundsman from 1967 to 1971. [6] UN Declaration on the Right to Development, Article 1, para 1. At: http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/table-1-human-development-index-and-its-components#a (viewed 9 June 2015). It's the anniversary of a court decision that recognized for . Eddie Koiki Mabo Lecture Series. 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. The Mabo decision was handed down on June 3, 1992 in the High Court's grand courtroom in Canberra. Family gatherings were foregone. 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]. And it was this; hardly any compensation has come our way despite all of the fear mongering over the years about the rivers of compensation that would flow from the realization of our rights under land rights and native title. This case, I said thisman Mabo will change Australia. Justice John Willis said: "In Australia it is the colonists not the Aborigines are the foreigners.". The Court also recognised that all Indigenous people in Australia have rights to their land. 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. 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. Searching for 'Mabo' in RecordSearch brings up many results, including the files below. Then, in June 1992, the years of sacrifice and persuasion came to fruition. 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. Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? What did Eddie Mabo say in his speech? "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. A world turning. Truth. The great polish poetCzeslawMilosz said perhaps all memory is the memory of wounds. I also acknowledge the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Nigel Scullion who is here today and my colleague Tim Wilson, our Australian Human Rights Commissioner. "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. Typical of such awards, the citations are generally understated and this is particularly so in your case. 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. How might this case shatter the myth of terra nullius? In 1981, Eddie Mabo delivered a speech at James Cook University in Queensland, where he challenged the widely accepted belief of ownership and inheritance of land on Murray Island. He also co-operated with members of the Communist Party, the only white political party to support Aboriginal campaigns at the time. More Information .We are closed in a box. Mabo, Edward Koiki (Eddie) (1936-1992) . Words speak across tongues. In 1959, he moved to mainland Queensland, working on pearling vessels and as a labourer. These often hamper the development and economic aspirations of the communities involved right from the start. 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. Our News Elders saythe wateris now a battleground. Eddie Koiki Mabo at Las, Murray Island, 1989 On 3 June 1992 the High Court of Australia recognised that a group of Torres Strait Islanders, led by Eddie Mabo, held ownership of Mer (Murray Island). For significant service to the community as a cultural leader and public sector executive in the field of Indigenous affairs.. Eddie Koiki Mabo was an advocate of the 1967 Referendum, fighting for equal rights including education. The theme of this years conference is Leadership, Legacy and Opportunity. 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. 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. 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. This was not empty land. Here we are 30 years later, still on that journey. These barriers all prevent us from using our land to enter into the economy from which we can see ourselves and our communities thrive. About 800 kilometers north of Cairns sits the small remote community of Mer (Murray) Island in the crystal blue waters of the Torres Strait. The nation remained diminished. 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. He would later describe his time on the island as 'the best time of my life'1. 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]. In 1959, he moved to mainland Queensland, working on pearling vessels and as a labourer. In 2008, a library at James Cook University was named after him. In one, the presiding judge said the mere introduction of British law did not extinguish Aboriginal customary law. Another similarity is something that sometimes we do not acknowledge enough. Others, mainly white opponents, regarded the judgement as a mistake. However, contemporary Indigenous governance needs recognises that we must now adjust our customary ways of governing to meet the expectations and regulations of non-indigenous laws and institutions. I walked into the news meeting at the ABC with words. This link is the basis of the ownership of the soil, or better, of sovereignty., "This is the torment of our powerlessness.". You and I know all too well that we live shorter, poorer lives than our non-Aboriginal counterparts. The legal decision was made by the High Court on 3 June 1992. During this time he became involved in community and political organisations, such as the union movement and the 1967 Referendum campaign. And in 1981, Eddie was invited by the same university to make a speech about Mer's land inheritance system. He was another victim of Terra Nullius, like so many of his fellow indigenous people had been before him. This will always be our land. Judged by any civilised standard, such a law is unjust ". The world of becoming ascends. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. 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. More information. That's why the legal decision is universally known as "Mabo". Husband, father, grandfather, mate, advocate, achiever, Principal and mentor. 2. Financing economic development within the Indigenous estate. The truth: This was his land. In a snapshot. In 1992 the High Court handed down its historic ruling. I had read about the case as it moved through the lower courts. The judge's four hundred page report presented Mabo and his barristers with a bombshell which threatened to sink their case. Indigenous Education and Research Centre Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are advised that this site may contain names, images or voices of people who have passed away. The Mabo decision was a legal case held in 1992. [9] UN Development Programme, Human Development Index, UN Human Development Report. There was scepticism, even cynicism, but I was able to report the story. They can raise us to anger then soothe us. 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 . To sign treaties. Mabo's love for his homeland drove the proud Torres Strait Islander to undertake a 10- year legal battle that rewrote Australia's history. 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. Legacy of Eddie Mabo. A Yolngu word meaning to come together after a struggle. This Declaration on the Right to Development was adopted by the General Assembly in 1986. In August 1981 Mabo attended a conference on land rights at James Cook University. 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. To Eddie Koiki Mabo and chief justice Sir Gerard Brennan. 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. Few Australians then knew the name Eddie Mabo. Mr Mabo died in 1992 just months before his 10-year legal battle for native title rights proved successful. 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 8 th of May in Perth. 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. While working as a gardener at James Cook University, he found out through two historians that, by law, he and his family did not own their land on Mer. It was during a stint as a gardener at the James Cook University at Townsville in Queensland, that his eyes were opened to the greatest injustice his people had ever been subjected to. The decision. 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. He married Bonita, his teenage sweetheart and with whom he had 10 children in a loving partnership that lasted 30 years. "The rights he won in the High Court have been eroded away by government, courts and socio-economic pressure.". 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. 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]. Mabo Day is an official holiday in the Torres Shire, celebrated on 3 June. This is our land. . Of invasion. When democracy is teetering and autocracy is rising. Words like han. 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. We leave base camp and start our trek across this vast country. 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. 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. 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. On Monday, he laid a wreath on Mr Mabo's grave on Mer Island. These adjustments are key if we are to translate our inherent legal rights under native title into sustainable opportunities for our people. During this time he enrolled as a student and studied teaching at the College of Advanced Education, which later amalgamated with JCU.
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