ipl-logo

How Important Was The Mabo Decision Making In The Case Of Eddie Mabo

1334 Words6 Pages

Eddie Mabo and the Mabo Decision As campaigns for improved human rights were gathering momentum across all of Australia (and indeed the globe) in the 1980s, five Torres Strait Islanders (Eddie Koiki Mabo, Sam Passi, Reverend Dave Passi, James Rice and Celuia Mapo Salee) began a long campaign for ‘Native Title’, forever changing the country’s views on Indigenous Australians and the impact of settlement. The notion of land rights was often misunderstood by Australian people who believed they would have their suburban lands taken off them. This meant non-Indigenous support for native title was rare. However, Mabo real aim was to receive legal recognition of their traditional lands in the Torres Strait – area that because of terra nullius was …show more content…

However, his name was passed down through generations as he left a profound legacy – changing the way Australian land was viewed and the population’s ideas of settlement. His legacy had practical effect also, with the Mabo decision setting the way for other Indigenous groups to reclaim family land and be recognised by law as Australia’s first peoples. Eddie Mabo’s daughter, Gail Mabo, wishes him to be remembered for his spirit and love, rather than just the facts and statistics. The fight took its toll on Mabo, with financial difficulties and ill health, yet he kept fighting, and this should be Australia’s true spirit, and Mabo its true icon. Mabo said of the fight "I thought about the struggles I'd been through all the past years since 1963 to the beginning of 1992 ... I also thought about how my wife the most important person in my life, how she stuck to me over many hardships and hurdles in life, but somehow we made it, perhaps better than others.” Despite the fight, Mabo said he loved it. In 1998, the Howard government changed the Native Title Act, making it significantly harder for Indigenous peoples to claim land. Today, the fight for recognition in Mabo’s name continues, with campaigns to change the date of ‘Australia Day’, as it is known by many Indigenous people as ‘Invasion Day’. This fight would not have been possible without Mabo’s fight …show more content…

(2017). Getting to know Eddie Mabo, the man behind the legend. [online] Available at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-03/eddie-mabo-the-man-behind-the-legend/8501266 [Accessed 4 Sep. 2017]. Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. (2017). Eddie Koiki Mabo. [online] Available at: https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/articles/eddie-koiki-mabo [Accessed 4 Sep. 2017]. Barker, G. (1993). The Legacy of Eddie Mabo. The Australian, p.11. Mabo and Others v. The State of Queensland [1992]175 CLR 1 F.C. 92/014 No. 2 (Judge Brennan). Nativetitle25.gov.au. (2017). THE MABO STORY – 25 Years of Native Title Recognition. [online] Available at: http://www.nativetitle25.gov.au/mabo-story/ [Accessed 4 Sep. 2017]. Reynolds, H. and Hosking, P. (2001). Why weren't we told?. Tullamarine, Vic.: Bolinda Audio Books. Webb, K. and Woollacott, A. (2013). History NSW syllabus for the Australian curriculum 10. Cambridge University Press,

Show More
Related

Eddie Koiki Mabo In The 1971 Gove Land Rights Case

149 Words | 1 Pages

In the 1971 Gove land rights case, Justice Blackburn ruled that Australia was terra nullius prior European settlement. This judgement was challenged for a total of 3 years but all attempts failed. However, on the 20th May 1982, Eddie Koiki Mabo and 4 other Indigenous people began their legal claim for ownership of their traditional lands on the island of Mer in the Torres Strait. The case was later taken to supreme court and after ten years, the case was closed and the government granted the indigenous people of australia their rightful land. Before this, Eddie had been helping his community from a young age.

Read More

The Mabo Case Study

695 Words | 3 Pages

Eddie Mabo was a Torres Strait Islander who believed Australian laws and land ownership were wrong and fought to change them. On 20 May 1982, Eddie Mabo, Sam Passi, David Passi, Celuia Mapo Salee and James Rice began their legal claim for ownership of their lands against the Queensland Government. In 1985, while the Mabo case was proceeding, the Queensland Government tried to avoid the issue of whether rights of Indigenous peoples survived colonisation. Due to this the leader of the Queensland Government Joh Bjelke-Petersen decided to introduce the Queensland Coast Islands Declaratory Act 1985. This Act had claimed to extinguish any rights and interests that the Meriam people may have had before its enactment.

Read More

How Did Eddie Mabo Change Australia

902 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More

How Did The Mabo Decision Affect Australia

420 Words | 2 Pages

The Mabo Decision was a turning point for the recognition of the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. From recognising ownership of traditional lands to raising awareness of racial discrimination, it affected the Indigenous Australian society in various ways. Firstly, the Mabo Decision was significant because it acknowledged the ownership of traditional lands by abolishing “terra nullius”, meaning that the land is empty and owned by no one. Previously, the British denied the Indigenous Australians' connection and ownership of the land by declaring that Australia was "terra nullius". However, on the 3rd of June, 1992, the High Court decided that the Merriam people were "entitled as against the whole word to possession, occupation

Read More

Edward Koiki Mabo Essay

996 Words | 4 Pages

In the 1980’s, national campaigns for land rights laws began and Eddie spoke at a 1981 land rights conference on land rights in the Torres Straits. On hearing his speech, Lawyer, H. C. ‘Nugget’ Coombs, encouraged Eddie and other Meriam people to establish ownership of their lands through the High Court of Australia, and on 20 May 1982, Koiki and four other Meriam Men began their fight for ownership of their lands on Murray and Dauar Islands through the Australian High Court. Koiki was named the first plaintiff, so the case became known as the Mabo Case. Research grants from AIATSIS helped out with the case, but the Queensland Government introduced a sneaky new law in 1985 to crush their chances for native title. Koiki and his colleagues challenged this new law and won, as the High Court found in 1988, this new Queensland law breached Australian racial discrimination laws—Mabo v. Queensland [No. 1].

Read More

Meriam V Ireland Case Study

585 Words | 3 Pages

After an unfortunate loss and denied claims in the Supreme Court of Queensland, Mabo and his team took the case back to the High Court of Australia, where they initially filed a writ (a form of written command in the name of a court or other legal authority to act, or abstain from acting, in a particular way) in 1982 to claim ownership of their ancestral land. The Case of Mabo v Queensland (N.2) asked the High Court whether the Meriam people of the Murray Islands were permitted to hold native title over their land. This idea had not been tested earlier as the doctrine of terra nullius was seen to concern all Australian land. The plaintiff’s argued that Meriam people should be given the right to the Murray Islands "as owners; as possessors; as occupiers; or as persons entitled to use and enjoy the said islands".

Read More

How Did Curtin Become Australian

932 Words | 4 Pages

Curtin was born into a disadvantaged and poor family in Perth, he attended three different schools across Australia, and he was not exactly a “genius child” - he was at the standard of the other students but held a reserved interest in reading, AFL and soccer. Called “Jack”, as Johns were back then, he dropped out of school at 13 to work as a printer’s devil on 5 shillings a week. He held many other small jobs during

Read More

Who Is Joyce Clague A Political Activist For Indigenous Australians?

1014 Words | 5 Pages

After Clague’s contribution during the 1967 referendum, many ATSI peoples were more socially accepted due to the government recognising them as part of the population. The government accepting Aborigines as humans meant that they were politically acknowledged and able to be citizens of Australia, earning themselves passports and the ability to fly overseas. Before being politically accepted ATSI peoples weren’t allowed to be given passports if they identified as being Aboriginal (Australian Screen, 2017). Culturally speaking, after white settlement, almost all native land belonging to aboriginal peoples was ripped away from them, wounding connections between Aborigines and their ancestors. Joyce Clague’s rescue of ATSI people’s native lands, political acceptance toward Aborigines and social approval of being human all contributed largely to the livelihoods of ATSI

Read More

Character Analysis Of Eddie Mabo

749 Words | 3 Pages

Eddie Mabo, hero or just a greedy, contentious man? Eddie Koiki Mabo is one of the most common household names in the Murray Island. An inspirational leader to some who sacrificed his own day to day life for his cause, Eddie fought and won against the government when fighting for the right to have his ancestor’s existence respected and acknowledged. But was Mabo just trying to steal land for himself and luckily stumbled into the limelight to become the face of the aboriginal fightback for equality? Eddie is man of sacrifice, he sacrificed his time with his family, numerous job opportunity and the responsibility of raising his family.

Read More

Edward Mabo Case Study

1001 Words | 5 Pages

It was ultimately the success of Mabo’s case, which pushed through the change needed in Australia. The Motivations that pushed Mabo to fight for land rights Eddie Mabo thought that the best years of his life, came from growing up on Mer island, the island to him, was his safe place, away from the troubles of poverty and the xenophobic nature of the Caucasian culture of Australia, a place that was filled with a recognizable culture and language, a place where the community were caring and selflessly helped one another. On the island, life truly was a paradise, people didn’t need to worry about feeding each other, as the island provided that comfort, people didn’t need to worry about housing, as the land belonged to the people, or so they thought.

Read More

Summary Of They Were Born Black By Bob Randall

138 Words | 1 Pages

Bob Randall guides us through the story with every important detail and aspect of his and other Aboriginals’ lives. Over the past years white people have been making the most disgusting and terrifying mistake. The Australian government must review

Read More

Denomination Switching Essay

441 Words | 2 Pages

Mabo: The Mabo case was a judgment in the High Court of Australia in 1992 affirming that Aboriginal people could still have rights to land taken by settlers. Wik: The Wik decision was a legal judgment made in Australia in 1996 that protects the right of Aboriginal people to own land. However, it stated that Native Title could co-exist with other rights on land under pastoral lease but, if there is a conflict between Native Title and lease, the rights of the leaseholder will

Read More

What Happened At Wave Hill Protest Of 1966

623 Words | 3 Pages

In 1966 the wave hill walk off occurred the wave hill walk off was originally meant to provide better wages for the Aboriginal people, however the wave hill walk off gradually turned into a protest for Aboriginal land rights. This report provides an insight to the overall success of these iconic protests. The wave hill walk-off consisted of a group of Aboriginals or more specifically the “Gurindji” people, the protest was lead by Aboriginal elder Vincent Lingiari. As previously mentioned the wave hill walk-off happened in 1966, specifically the 23rd of August 1996 at Wave Hill in the northern territory.

Read More

Arguments Against Native Title

999 Words | 4 Pages

Native title ’Native title’ refers to the recognition that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (ATSI) have rights to their traditional lands. For many years, native title has been an on-going topic across Australia, with many people disliking the concept. However, due to Australia’s changing social values and new concepts of justice, it has now been recently addressed. It is through the legal mechanisms such as the ALRC, the NSWLRC, the parliament and the courts and the non legal mechanism, the media that has been a catalyst for law reform for native title. Such mechanisms, have helped cases like the Mabo v Queensland [1988]

Read More

Traditional Values Of Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islanders

54 Words | 1 Pages

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have resided in Australia for at least 60,000 years with an extraordinary relationship to the land and sea; Land rights were formed by a complex social process constructed on traditional values where the rights of the land were hereditary, established on principles of decedents, kinship and marriage (Dodds, 1998).

Read More

More about How Important Was The Mabo Decision Making In The Case Of Eddie Mabo

Open Document