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How Did Eddie Mabo Win The High Court Of Australia

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After 10 long years Torres Strait Islander Eddie ‘Koiki’ Mabo has lead indigenous Australians to a victory over the Queensland government. This win this case is a historical moment, as of yesterday, the indigenous Australians have been recognised as the owners of Murray Island.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are known to have resided in Australia, 40,000 to 60,000 years before the British arrived in 1788. When the British took over they decided to take all the land for themselves even though the indigenous Australians were here first. This court case recognises indigenous Australians unique connection to the land and acknowledges that they have the rights to the land. When the British first arrived in Australia, they assumed that Aboriginal …show more content…

Throughout the case, they produced 4000 pages of evidence, which included proof that the eight clans of Murray Island have occupied defined territories for hundreds of years. Their poof and testimonies evidently were enough to persuade the high court which .. in their favour, something that wasn’t expected due to the long time period of the case. It seemed as if this would never happen but eventually, and slowly but surely they managed to win the case not just for themselves but for the population of Indigenous Australians around the country. This is a turning point for the indigenous population, they are edging their way closer to equality to live in a world with no racism or discrimination towards …show more content…

However, this was completely disregarded by Australians. 'The native inhabitants of any land have an incontrovertible right to their own soil, however, which seems not to have been understood ‘ was a statement by House of Commons select committees report on Australian Colonies in 1837. This lead to Australians using the concept of ' Terra Nullius’ implying that Australia was unoccupied at the time of ‘discovery’. We now rightfully recognise that there were others here before us that should have rights to their own land that we wrongfully took

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The Mabo decision changed the legal, political and social relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. In recognising the traditional rights of Murray Islanders it changed Australia forever. The Mabo decision opened the doors for other indigenous people and groups to be able to claim ownership of land. They were required to prove that they had continuous connection to the land and maintained their traditional associating with it. The 'native title ' is the recognition by law that some aboriginal and torres strait islander people have rights to certain land due to their traditional laws and customs.

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