What is Mabo Day and why is it significant? - ABC News The former president of Western Australia's Liberal Party, Bill Hassel, said the ruling was greeted with "outrage". 2006 Presentation by Professor Larissa Behrendt. 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. 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. 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. In that book he argued, contrary to theories of Charles Darwin, that it was not the fittest or the strongest nor the smartest that survive but those who can manage change, that is it is the most adaptable who survive. Justice Blackburn ruled Australia was indeed a "settled colony", that this was"desert and uncultivated". 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). Mabo said was that it is my fathers & grandfather's, grandmother's land, I am related to it, it is my identity. 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. 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. Words. This link is the basis of the ownership of the soil, or better, of sovereignty., "This is the torment of our powerlessness.". 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." 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. As the Broome Roundtable highlighted, this remains one of the key unresolved issues facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their quest for ongoing economic development. Audio file Transcript About this record This is the soundtrack of an address to the nation on 15 November 1993 by the then Prime Minister Paul Keating, explaining the Australian Government's response to the High Court's Mabo decision. Speech to the Native Title Conference celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Mabo High Court decision 6 June 2012. . He also co-operated with members of the Communist Party, the only white political party to support Aboriginal campaigns at the time. Six weeks later his father died. Eddie Mabo at James Cook University, early 1980s Series 8. He's recorded as saying: "No way, it's not theirs, it's ours." 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. Today in the midst of winter there is still smoke from a campfire, framing a word spelled out on the lawn: Sovereignty. Mabo expressed disbelief and shock. But 20 years after the judgement, there's still a debate among constitutionalists, lawyers and politicians about the legacy of Mabo. 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Eddie Mabo - Wikipedia Two words showed something was wrong with the system, After centuries of Murdaugh rule in the Deep South, the family's power ends with a life sentence for murder, Flooding in southern Malaysia forces 40,000 people to flee homes, When Daniel picked up a dropped box on a busy road, he had no idea it would lead to the 'best present ever', Plans to redevelop 'eyesore' on prime riverside land fall apart as billionaires exit, Labor's pledge for mega koala park in south-west Sydney welcomed by conservation groups, Tom Sizemore, Saving Private Ryan actor, dies aged 61. On 3 June 1992, six of seven Australian High Court judges ruled: The Meriam people are entitled as against the whole world to possession, occupation, use and enjoyment of the lands of the Murray Islands [in Torres Strait]. While he believed the Murray Island belonged to the Torres Strait Islander people, Australian law stated that the Government owned the land. Bryan Keon-Cohen was one of Eddie Mabo's barristers, and he gave a speech at Mabo's funderal in Townsville in Feb 1992 - he said: 'I confine myself here . And he knew truth. More Information .We are closed in a box. 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. [1] It was brought by Eddie Mabo against the State of Queensland and decided on 3 June 1992. That's why the legal decision is universally known as "Mabo". 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". 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. Thank you Russell for your kind words of introduction. the belief that Australia and its islands belonged to no-one when claimed by the British in 1770) in a landmark court . Top 10 Amazing Facts about Eddie Mabo - Discover Walks Blog Uncle Eddie 'Koiki' Mabo. I was no lawyerbut I knew I sensed this was different. Eddie Koiki Mabo | AIATSIS Finally, the remaining key theme of the meeting was the issue of our right as Indigenous peoples to development. 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. Eddie Mabo was a great hero to the Australian people. JCU celebrates the history-making Mabo decision with the long establishedEddie Koiki Mabo Lecture Series, an annual public commemorative presentation by a prominent person who has made a significant contribution to contemporary Australian society. Two generations talk about the impact of the 1967 Referendum and the 1992 Mabo Decision . But he was wrong. 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. The significance of Mabo Day - ABC Education A Yolngu word meaning to come together after a struggle. 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 Koiki Mabo and the Mabo Case | naa.gov.au For 50 years this embassy has stood as a reminder that we are still here. 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. So today it is indeed an honour for both my people and myself to be presenting this year's Edward Koiki Mabo Lecture. Mabo expressed disbelief and shock. Document: 00003849.pdf 1 Page(s) Speech at the Gurindji Land Ceremony. The Castle: Cheat Sheet | Movie News | SBS Movies 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." This needs to change. PDF 3 June: a significant date - Reconciliation Australia Mabo/Eddie Mabo's address to Land Rights Conference, 1981 This was apartheid in Australia, not South Africa. Mabo Day & Native Title: Who was Eddie Mabo & what is his legacy? 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. This will always be our land. We go on, he said, ever, ever, ever on. It is clear that we have seen a change in momentum as far as this space is concerned. He is hardworking and determined, but at the cost of his family life. This Declaration on the Right to Development was adopted by the General Assembly in 1986. 2017 presentation by Professor Megan Davis, Pro Vice Chancellor Indigenous, University of New South Wales. Here we are 30 years later, still on that journey. Uncle Koiki Mabo launches legal case for his land - Deadly Story HOST: Today is Mabo Day. He spoke of impermanence: He knew things did not last and yet we do. In 1992 the High Court handed down its historic ruling. [2] Australian Human Rights Commission, Paper on Indigenous Leaders Roundtable, Property Rights, p4. 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 build a world worth living in. In-text: (Two generations talk about the impact of the 1967 Referendum and the 1992 Mabo Decision, 2019) Your Bibliography: Time Out Sydney. The legal decision was made by the High Court on 3 June 1992. The Declaration incorporates four fundamental human rights principles that can be categorised as: However, the UN Declaration on the Right to Development has been a lesser-known cousin to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. [1] Cast [ edit] Jimi Bani as Eddie Mabo Gedor Zaro as Young Eddie Deborah Mailman as Bonita Mabo (ne Neehow) It was suggested that we, as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, needed to think outside of the box when it comes to this issue. The next generation of native title issues are due to hit us shortly through processes such as litigation regarding ILUAs, variations to determinations and compensation proceedings.[2]. The judge's four hundred page report presented Mabo and his barristers with a bombshell which threatened to sink their case. 2008 Presentation by The Hon. A while back I read a business management book by an American, Leon C. Megginson. The words are carefully chosen to sit alongside each other withjust the right length and the right tone, each one setting up the other and chosen for both meaning and music. . Mabo decision | National Museum of Australia He was another victim of Terra Nullius, like so many of his fellow indigenous people had been before him. Elders saythe wateris now a battleground. Eddie Mabo wanted to change the law of Terra Nullius and claim the Aboriginal people as the original owners of the land this would change social and political views of the aboriginal people. The memory of wounds. JCU websites use cookies to enhance user experience, analyse site usage, and assist with outreach and enrolment.