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Artemis, Tia, Sarah, Grace, Tiah, Caitlin

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Artemis, Tia, Sarah, Grace, Tiah, Caitlin

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Eddie Mabo was born on 29th of June in 1936 in his village of Las on the island of Mer in Torres Strait. Koiko’s first language was Meriam and he grew up immersed in his Meriam culture. In 1959 he moved to Townsville in Queensland and held a variety of jobs.

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A photograph of Eddie Koiki Mabo in Townsville, 1991 by Bethyl Mabo

Reference: https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/eddie-koiki-mabo

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On the 29th of June 1936, Edward Koiki Mabo was born on Mer, a part of the Murry Island Group in the Torres Strait. In 1959 he moved to mainland Queensland, where he worked on pearling vessels and as a labourer. During this period, Mabo became involved in community and political organisations, such as the union movement and the 1967 Referendum campaign. In 1973, Mabo founded the Black Community School in Townsville, which was created to educate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and store traditional knowledge and practices.

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the laws that were applied to the case were Queensland Coast Islands Declaratory Act 1985, Native Title Act 1993,

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Eddie Mabo (second from left) with his Barrister Bryan Keon-Cohen (second from right) outside the Queensland Supreme Court in 1989

Reference: https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/mabo-decision

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Racial Discrimination act
1985 Queensland law - took away property rights Torres Straight Islanders without compensation
S. 109 of Australian Constitution
Terra Nullius

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Legal Textbook
https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/mabo-decision
https://www.naa.gov.au/explore-collection/first-australians/eddie-koiki-mabo-and-mabo-case
https://www.naa.gov.au/explore-collection/first-australians/eddie-koiki-mabo-and-mabo-case

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Legal proceedings for the case began on 20 May 1982, when a group of four Meriam men, one Meriam women, brought legal action against the State of Queensland and the Commonwealth of Australia, in the High Court, claiming 'native title' to the Murray Islands. The action was led by Eddie Mabo and was consequentially named the Mabo case, after his contribution.

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British & Australian law always assumed at the time of settlement the land that became colony of NSW (later, Australia) was not owned by anyone (ie: terra nullius - ‘land of no one’); as a result, the Crown automatically owned the entire continent at the time of settlement in 1788.

1982: Mabo (& 4 other plainti
s from the island of Mer) took action in the High Court challenging the terra nullius principle, claiming Indigenous Australians owned the land at the time of settlement and this property ownership continued after British settlement in 1788.

1985: Queensland passed law, declaring that any Indigenous property rights over Mer or other islands in the Torres Strait are extinguished (ie: terminated); law is an attempt to end Mabo’s case.

1988: High Court declares this 1985 Queensland law invalid.

1986 - 1990: Queensland Supreme Court (on behalf of High Court) investigates evidence of land ownership rules on Mer, including how land was managed & transferred from one person to another.

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Eddie Mabbo is a Torres Strait Islander community leader and land rights campaigner, was born on 29 June 1936

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The Mabo Case was a significant legal case in Australia that recognised the land rights of the Meriam people, traditional owners of the Murray Islands in the Torres Strait.

The Mabo Case was successful in overturning the myth that at the time of colonisation Australia was ‘terra nullus’ or land belonging to no one.

The High Court recognised the fact that Indigenous peoples had lived in Australia for thousands of years and enjoyed rights to their land according to their own laws and customs. Twelve months later the Native Title Act 1993 was passed

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Question 3: Timeline of events from 1788-1993

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Question 3: Timeline of events from 1788-1993

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1788- The British assumed at the time of settlement the land was not owned by anyone (terra nullius - land of no one) so they immediately owned the entire continent at the time of settlement.
1982- Mabo challenged the terra nullius principle in the High Court, claiming that Indigenous Australians owned the land at the time of settlement
1985- Queensland passed a law declaring that any Indigenous property rights over Mer or other islands in the Torres Straight are extinguished - made in attempt to end Mabo's case
1988- The High Court declares the 1985 law invalid
1986-90- Queensland Supreme Court (on behalf of the High Court) investigate evidence of land ownership on Mer, how it was managed and transferred from one to another

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Question 4: A summary of the key facts and issues central to the Mabo case, including the rights in question.

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Question 4: A summary of the key facts and issues central to the Mabo case, including the rights in question.

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The facts in Mabo proved the Meriam people had an organised system of land ownership, including clearly identified parcels of land that belonged to individuals and were passed on by inheritance. The High Court was asked to recognise this system of land ownership; all previous decisions of Australian (and British) courts had assumed the continent was ‘the land of no–one’ at the time of settlement and therefore belonged automatically to the Crown in 1788, ignoring Indigenous Australians’ claims to possess and access their traditional lands.

The following proceedings commenced in 1982.

The plaintiffs initiated proceedings in the High Court.

Since European settlement, Australian law had assumed the continent was terra nullius at the time of settlement

Legally, the ‘land of no–one’. And as a result of the terra nullius principle, the law determined that the Crown automatically took ownership of the entire continent at the time of the European settlement in 1788.

Indigenous Australians had no lawful claim to possession or ownership of any land. And by extension of this principle of terra nullius, Queensland automatically took control of the Murray Islands in 1879 when it annexed the islands (that is, declaring the islands were now part of Queensland).

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The Queensland Parliament passed the Queensland Coast Islands Declaratory Act 1985 in an attempt to pre-empt the Meriam peoples’ case. The aim of the legislation was to retrospectively extinguish the claimed rights of the Meriam people to the Murray Islands.

As a result, the High Court had to consider whether the Queensland legislation was valid and effective. The High Court found the Queensland Coast Islands Declaratory Act to be invalid because it was in conflict with the Racial Discrimination Act 1975. This case became known as Mabo v. Queensland (No. 1) and the decision meant the original case could continue.

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Corrected past injustices, by overturning the terra nullius principle.

Provided a legal recognition of traditional owners’ rights to land

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Eddie Mabo is a Torres Strait Islander community leader and land rights campaigner advocating fro indigenous land rights and seeking recognition of his peoples ownership of the land of Mer

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Traditional dancers from Mer (Murray Island), the territory in which the High Court of Australia deemed that Eddie Mabo and Torres Strait Islanders held ownership over

Reference: https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/mabo-decision

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He created a school for indigenous children to better under the culture and history of their land ancestors. He also was active in encouraging people to vote yes in the 1967 referendum to remove discrimination against all aboriginal Australians from the constitution.

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-whether the Meriam people did have traditional rights and interests in the land of the Murray Islands
-6 of 7 judges upheld the claim and ruled that the lands of this continent were not ‘land belonging to no-one’ when European settlement occurred, and that the Meriam people were 'entitled as against the whole world to possession, occupation, use and enjoyment of (most of) the lands of the Murray Islands'.
-The Keating government gave effect to the Mabo decision by introducing the Native Title Act 1993, which facilitated the process of recognising native title.

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Outcome: The introduction of the principle of native title into the Australian legal system. The Mabo judgement ensures that whenever there is conflict between titles granted by the Crown and the native title, the Crown prevails

Impacts: The outcome of the Mabo Case has provided recognition that Indigenous people in Australia had a prior title to land taken by the Crown since Cook’s declaration of possession in 1770 and acknowledgment of the traditional rights of the Meriam people to their land, the court also held that native title existed for all Indigenous people.

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Mer, in the Torres Strait

Reference: https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/mabo-decision

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Question 8: At least two images, including an explanation of what is in the photos.

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Question 8: At least two images, including an explanation of what is in the photos.