Words like han. 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. Bonita 'Netta' Mabo: Eddie's wife and is a resourceful, supportive and loving woman. 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 some ways our systems of governance is a defining feature of the oldest living culture on this planet. Friendship with Eddie Mabo. Eddie Mabo was a great hero to the Australian people. [7] OHCHR Website, Essays in Commemoration of 25 years of the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development. 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. "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. That word is emblazoned still at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy on the lawns of the Old Parliament House in Canberra. Document: 00003849.pdf 1 Page(s) Speech at the Gurindji Land Ceremony. "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. Topics are usually less than 2 minutes long. Our people know han. But it was a bittersweet moment for the indigenous population. 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 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. He knew about suffering. 10. [10] UN Development Programme, Human Development Index, UN Human Development Report, p237. 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. 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. The Court also recognised that all Indigenous people in Australia have rights to their land. 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. We are currently not sharing in the developmental prosperity for which Australia is known. Make an Impact. Eddie Koiki Mabo was an advocate of the 1967 Referendum, fighting for equal rights including education. Winanghanha is to return to knowing: to know what we have always known. At: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/ALRCRefJl/2009/15.html#FootnoteB6 (viewed 9 June 2015). (No. In 1959, he moved to mainland Queensland, working on pearling vessels and as a labourer. In the Shire of . The National Archives holds a diverse array of records relating to the Mabo case. Others, mainly white opponents, regarded the judgement as a mistake. But alongside . Mabo Day & Native Title: Who was Eddie Mabo & what is his legacy? The issue of compensation for unfinished business was another key theme of the Roundtable. Thank you Russell for your kind words of introduction. A case was made, and took 10 years to reach a decision. It felt in this case that the time had come. 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. 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." 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. 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". In his book Why Weren't We Told?, Reynolds describes the talks they had regarding Mabo's people's rights to their lands, on Murray Island, in the Torres Strait. 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. Well, Australia now stands at a moment of history. Promoting Indigenous peoples right to development. One of the people who attended the conference, a lawyer, suggested they should make a case to claim land rights through the court system. My people are the Gangulu from the Dawson Valley in Central Queensland. 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. 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. A clear theme from the Broome Roundtable revealed a common frustration among many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Two generations talk about the impact of the 1967 Referendum and the 1992 Mabo Decision . I like words. The court dismissed his challenge to Australian sovereignty, but in his opinion Justice Lionel Murphy rattled the bones of the Australian settlement. " Then, in June 1992, the years of sacrifice and persuasion came to fruition. Mabo's credibility as the primary witness for the case was savaged . As this brave mans voice even as he had passed was heard by another man who is now gone and together they changed us. Eddie Mabo was a Torres Strait Islander activist. For Indigenous peoples around the world, the Declaration has been a means by which they can free themselves from the shackles of colonialism and share equitably in the benefits of development.[8]. When democracy is teetering and autocracy is rising. The new Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, says there will be a referendum to enshrine a voice an Indigenous representative body in the Australian constitution. 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. According to his daughter Gail Mabo, it 'fuelled his determination for recognition and equality in society'. That nearly a third of our land mass is Indigenous owned is testament to this. Transcript of proceedings.in the High Court of Australia between Eddie Mabo, David Passi, James Rice.and the State of Queensland Proceedings for 28-31 May 1991, 3 June 1992, and 8 December 1992. It is clear that the current system has not delivered what had initially been intended to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. You Murray Islanders have won that court case. Australia owes you a great debt. 2019. Mabo said was that it is my fathers & grandfather's, grandmother's land, I am related to it, it is my identity. That was Eddie Mabos gift. Mabo, Edward Koiki (Eddie) (1936-1992) . Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that this resource and resource page may contain the image, name or voice of deceased persons. Our News While he believed the Murray Island belonged to the Torres Strait Islander people, Australian law stated that the Government owned the land. This was apartheid in Australia, not South Africa. 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". 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. Searching for 'Mabo' in RecordSearch brings up many results, including the files below. The Mabo decision What is the Mabo decision? Without this foundation, there would be no opportunity for us to access these rights through this unique form of land tenure. 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. Transcript. It is this issue of development that I will explore later in greater detail. Husband, father, grandfather, mate, advocate, achiever, Principal and mentor. Family gatherings were foregone. A panel of judges at the High Court ruled that Aboriginal people were the rightful custodians of the land. We are still trying to find the words to equal the full measure of Eddie Mabo's devotion. More information. Vincent Lingiari and men and women of the Gurindji people. 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. Mabo gained an education, became an activist for black rights and worked with his community to make sure Aboriginal children had their own schools. The victory was largely down to one indigenous man called Eddie Mabo. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. Love, kindness, forgiveness; always love. Mabo expressed disbelief and shock. (2011 lecture transcript), 2010 Presentation by Professor Chris Sarra. The "fallacy" that Perkins speaks of is the concept of Terra Nullius, land belonging to no-one. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? In one, the presiding judge said the mere introduction of British law did not extinguish Aboriginal customary law. The fall of the golden house of is but not the end. British law under a British flag. 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. In fact, the court went to considerable lengths to establish that the impact of its judgment will be minimal on non-Aboriginal Australians. 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. British law was the law of the colony and usurped and superseded Aboriginal law. 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. His mother died during childbirth and he was raised by his mother's brother, Benny Mabo . This is yet another reason why a development approach is so urgently needed. 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. On 3 June 1992, the High Court of Australia ruled in favour of limited native title. 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. 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. "If Koiki Mabo were alive today he would be an angry man," says Malezer. This is our land. Mabo ended up on the mainland working a number of jobs, including labouring on the railways. That permission was denied. To build a world worth living in. I walked into the news meeting at the ABC with words. They both endured early hard lives that steeled them for the struggles that would eventually come their way. Legacy of Eddie Mabo. What did Eddie Mabo say in his speech? The practical effects of Mabo have, indeed, been mixed, judging by figures from the Koori Mail, a national indigenous-owned newspaper. Eddie Mabo at James Cook University, early 1980s Series 8. "If ever a system could be called a government of laws," he said, "it is shown in the evidence before me.". 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. In his historic speech at Sydney's Redfern Park, then Prime Minister Paul Keaing said: "By doing away with the bizarre conceit that this continent had no owners prior to the settlement of Europeans, Mabo establishes a fundamental truth and lays the basis for justice." Mabo died five months earlier from cancer in January 1992, at the age of 55. We did not end. Aboriginal Australians are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their landmark victory over land rights.

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