eddie mabo speech transcript

Eddie Mabo at James Cook University, early 1980s Series 8. Mabo was a Torres Strait islander from Mer (Murray Island), off Australia's north-east coast. Our landsings gently a song of sadness. Aunty Clara Ogleby, I begin by acknowledging and paying my respects to the Kuku Yalanji people, Traditional Owners of the place upon which we sit and talk today. Mabo decision | Australia's Defining Moments Digital Classroom To strengthen our democracy as Eddie Mabo strengthened our 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. Mabo, Edward Koiki (Eddie) (1936-1992) . Transcript. He was right. But that hasn't stopped indigenous people, like Queensland elder Douglas Bon, taking great satisfaction in the ruling. He told them of his dream of ending his days on Murray Island, on the ancestral land that had been handed down through his family for 15 generations. Here we are 30 years later, still on that journey. 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". The assumptions were quite erroneous, of course, but Terra Nullius was set in unshakeable motion and stayed rooted in place for two hundred years, even though Aborigines had been in Australia for at least 40,000 years. Gail Mabo and Prime Minister Tony Abbott during their visit to the grave of Eddie Mabo on Mer Island. At: https://www.humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/document/publication/social_justice_native_title_report_2013.pdf (viewed 5 June 2015), [5] T Calma, Native Title Report 2008, Australian Human Rights Commission (2009), p 46. This could also be translated as greater Indigenous control over our lands and resources more generally, and a decrease in the burden placed on Indigenous landholders as I have mentioned earlier today by government and other industries. Eddie Koiki Mabo and the Mabo Case | naa.gov.au 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. More Information .We are closed in a box. These skills will enable us to make better and informed decisions for maximum benefit and I look forward, as I am sure you do, to the release of IBAs investment principles, which they are currently developing in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and organisations across the country. "For two centuries, the British and then white Australians operated under a fallacy, that somehow Aboriginal people did not exist or have land rights before the first settlers arrived in 1788.". [1] Cast [ edit] Jimi Bani as Eddie Mabo Gedor Zaro as Young Eddie Deborah Mailman as Bonita Mabo (ne Neehow) 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. 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. To build a world worth living in. Towards Reconciliation: The 1967 Referendum and Mabo What Exactly Is 'Mabo Day' And Why Is June 3 Such An - ELLE But 20 years after the judgement, there's still a debate among constitutionalists, lawyers and politicians about the legacy of Mabo. I'd also like to thank AIATSIS for the invitation to speak today and in doing that can I congratulate you Russell on receiving your recent Member of the Order of Australia award. 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. and in 2008 James Cook University named its Townsville campus library the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library. Commemorating Mabo Day - Reconciliation Australia Meriam history and culture were crucial to the success of the Mabo case. On November 16, 1990, after a year of considering the facts of the case, Justice Moynihan delivered his written findings to the High Court of Australia. . Transcript 9037 | PM Transcripts Eddie Mabo: It was written in the stars | NITV In conversations with Commissioner Wilson and others, we are in the midst of developing what the next step in this process should look like and we will continue to engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples such as yourselves in order to do this. Mabo 20 years on: did it change the nation? We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. The Court also recognised that all Indigenous people in Australia have rights to their land. It commemoratesEdward (Eddie) Koiki Mabo (1936-1992), a Torres Strait Islander whose campaign for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land rights led to a landmark decision in the High Court of Australia on 3rd June 1992 that overturned the legal fiction of terra nullius, which had characterised Australian law with respect to land and title since the voyage of Captain James Cook in 1770. Suggested answer: While working as a grounds keeper at James Cook University in Townsville, Eddie learnt about Australian land ownership laws. . But without warriors such as Eddie, David and James, Rob and countless others, we would not be in the position regarding Indigenous land tenure that we are in today. A Yolngu word meaning to come together after a struggle. Australian PM makes historic visit to Mabo's grave - BBC News You Murray Islanders have won that court case. Rob was at the forefront of the fight for land in Western Australia, particularly at Nookanbah and when the WA Government led the resistance to national land rights legislation. I think much of the dialogue on this issue in Australia has revolved around how to protect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from development as opposed to how to realize our rights to development and the associated benefits that come with it. I believe that it is this framework that has the power to elevate the aspirations that we have as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in relation to land. A clear theme from the Broome Roundtable revealed a common frustration among many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. At: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Development/Pages/RealizingaVisionforTransformativeDevelopment.aspx (viewed 9 June 2015), [8] N Collings, Native title, economic development and the environment, Australian Law Reform Commission Journal 15, 2009. Born in 1936, he grew up in the village of Las on the north bend of Mer Island. 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. No transcript available, 2016 Lecture Presentation by Professor N M Nakata, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Indigenous Education and Strategy, James Cook University (Transcript), 2016 Lecture Presentation by Professor N M Nakata, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Indigenous Education and Strategy, James Cook University (2016 Lecture Transcript), 2015 Presentation by The Hon. [12] Native Title Act 1993 (Cth), preamble. Eddie Mabo - Kids | Britannica Kids | Homework Help I honour your Elders that have come before you, those that are here today and I wait in optimistic anticipation for those Elders who are yet to emerge. The former president of Western Australia's Liberal Party, Bill Hassel, said the ruling was greeted with "outrage". Concocted by the early settlers, it was used, systematically, cynically and effectively to deprive the indigenous people of their own land. 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. That word is emblazoned still at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy on the lawns of the Old Parliament House in Canberra. 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. Eddie Koiki Mabo presents a guest lecture about the Torres - YouTube It remains a collection of canvas and tin, but it has grown in those years since a handful of young Aboriginal activists planted a beach umbrella and wrote the word Embassy on a manila folder, to shake a fist at the power on the hill. Mabo: Always was, always will be First Nations land 2008 Presentation by The Hon. Eddie Koiki Mabo | AIATSIS Husband, father, grandfather, mate, advocate, achiever, Principal and mentor. [2] Australian Human Rights Commission, Paper on Indigenous Leaders Roundtable, Property Rights, p4. 1h 43m. I want to give two words from my people, Wiradjuri. Winanghanha is to return to knowing: to know what we have always known. While working as a gardener at James Cook University, he found out through two historians that, by law, he and his family did not own their land on Mer. HOST: Today is Mabo Day. 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. And these were the costs borne by the whole family. Vincent Lingiari and men and women of the Gurindji people. Watch. Can I be indulgent and add a couple of others. I was no lawyerbut I knew I sensed this was different. 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. Keating begins by discussing the moral and legal implications of the decision. "He became a driven man," says his friend and documentary maker, Trevor Graham. It is sadness beyond the word sadness itself. We are still trying to find the words to equal the full measure of Eddie Mabo's devotion. The Mabo verdict was arguably the most significant court ruling in the history of Indigenous Australia, overturning the concept of terra nullius and paving the way for native title. He was a Meriam man and grew up on Mer, part of the Murray Island Group in the Torres Strait. active, free and meaningful participation in development; self-determination and full sovereignty over natural wealth and resources. Others, while acknowledging the shortcomings of Mabo's long-term legacy, still regard it as a watershed moment in Australian political, cultural and economic life. He married Bonita, his teenage sweetheart and with whom he had 10 children in a loving partnership that lasted 30 years. These organisations could assist in under-writing costs, insurance and risk as well as helping explore options for Indigenous specific loan products. Twenty three years after the Mabo decision we are going through another adaption as we talk about how we can start to enjoy the benefits that come from land ownership in the same way that is open to all other Australians, without compromising our unique rights as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. At http://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/native-title-report-2008 (viewed 5 June 2015). Mabo Collection | National Library of Australia He spoke of impermanence: He knew things did not last and yet we do. Mabo v Queensland (No 2) - 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. Friendship with Eddie Mabo. Searching for 'Mabo' in RecordSearch brings up many results, including the files below. Read about our approach to external linking. More information. But alongside . Eddie Mabo knew about love too. Han is Korean and it is more than a word. A documentary, Mabo: Life of an Island Man, directed by Trevor Graham, was released in 1997 and received the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Documentary. 5. "The golden house of is collapses. As Noel Pearson has recently said in relation to this issue: Were moving from a land rights claim phase to a land rights use phase where people are grappling with how we make our land contribute to our development.[3]. We will adapt, we will take advantage of these opportunities and we will leave a great legacy. We pay our respects to the people, their cultures and Elders past, present and emerging. The Roundtable was held after there was significant interest on this issue when Commissioner Wilson and I undertook some consultations around the country last year. (2012 lecture transcript), 2011 Presentation by Mr Mick Gooda, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner. With support from legal experts, Mabo, along with fellow plaintiffs and Murray Islanders Reverend David Passi, Celuia Mapoo Salee, Sam Passi and James Rice, brought a case against the Queensland Government in the High Court. Unfortunately, the right to development is not a concept often thought about in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as members of a developed country. 2023 BBC. Edward Koiki Mabo ( n Sambo; 29 June 1936 - 21 January 1992) was an Indigenous Australian man from the Torres Strait Islands known for his role in campaigning for Indigenous land rights in Australia, in particular the landmark decision of the High Court of Australia that recognised that indigenous rights to land had continued after the British In 1974, he became involved in a discussion with two academics. Eddie Mabo would not live to see his final victory, but in that judgement he became immortal. Others, mainly white opponents, regarded the judgement as a mistake. Uncle Eddie 'Koiki' Mabo. In 1959, he moved to mainland Queensland, working on pearling vessels and as a labourer. This case, I said thisman Mabo will change Australia. And it was this; hardly any compensation has come our way despite all of the fear mongering over the years about the rivers of compensation that would flow from the realization of our rights under land rights and native title. "If Koiki Mabo were alive today he would be an angry man," says Malezer. Australia owes you a great debt. Land claim, 1981-1992 In 1981, at a conference on indigenous land rights in Townsville, a decision was made to pursue a native land title claim for the people of the Murray Islands in the High Court of Australia. Sign up for free to create engaging, inspiring, and converting videos with Powtoon. The Mabo Case Eddie Mabo is widely known for his plight to regain land rights for both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. That is, how do we build on the underlying communal title to create options for our economic development? A culture and a people facing devastation. 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. Mabo : ABC iview So, in many ways, the victory has been more symbolic than practical. Mabo's love for his homeland drove the proud Torres Strait Islander to undertake a 10- year legal battle that rewrote Australia's history. I had read about the case as it moved through the lower courts. Of invasion. At the 1981 James Cook University Land Rights Conference Eddie Mabo made a passionate speech about land ownership and ancestral inheritance in the Murray Islands. Topics are usually less than 2 minutes long. Eddie Koiki Sambo was born on June 29, 1936 on the Torres Strait island of Mer, also known as Murray Island. Tenacity, fearlessness, fearsome, tireless are some of the words that come to mind when the names Rob Riley and Eddie Mabo are mentioned. The court dismissed his challenge to Australian sovereignty, but in his opinion Justice Lionel Murphy rattled the bones of the Australian settlement. " He was another victim of Terra Nullius, like so many of his fellow indigenous people had been before him. However, most importantly of all, we are now faced with the challenge of how to make the most of our rights to land and native title once we have them, for our prosperity and sustainability. These adjustments are key if we are to translate our inherent legal rights under native title into sustainable opportunities for our people. 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. The "fallacy" that Perkins speaks of is the concept of Terra Nullius, land belonging to no-one. Eddie Mabo was heartbroken and never forgave government authorities. He knew about suffering. the Aborigines did not give up their lands peacefully; they were killed or removed forcibly from the lands by United Kingdom forces or the European colonists in what amounted to attempted (and in Tasmania almost complete) genocide.". Some key principles underpinning this right are: This Declaration centralizes the role of both the individual and government in the development process, arguing for the State to create national policies to properly ensure the development of all individuals. Importantly, the Roundtable highlighted that despite previous promises around compensation for historical dispossession, this has not yet materialized. A panel of judges at the High Court ruled that Aboriginal people were the rightful custodians of the land. The significance of Mabo Day - ABC Education Legacy of Eddie Mabo. 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. Eternal. We are currently not sharing in the developmental prosperity for which Australia is known. Rejected at each turn. It felt in this case that the time had come. I also acknowledge Meriam PBC Chair Mr Doug Passi. Our News [1] And that shift is the move to the next emerging challenge; how do we maximise these rights to their full potential, now that we have our native title recognized? Les Malezer, chairman of the Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action, is critical of the native title system for its failure to deliver for indigenous people. I like words. Transcript ID: 3849. And he knew truth. Court cases in the mid-19th century challenged the idea of British settlement at the time the rulings were in favour of the Crown. He would later describe his time on the island as 'the best time of my life'1. eddie mabo speech transcript eddie mabo speech transcript In-text: (Two generations talk about the impact of the 1967 Referendum and the 1992 Mabo Decision, 2019) Your Bibliography: Time Out Sydney. 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. Mabo vs QLD - Stories from the Archives The legal decision was made by the High Court on 3 June 1992. Eddie Mabo was a staff member at JCU, working as a groundsman from 1967 to 1971. This issue of transfer, usability and conversion of title threw up many challenges around how to retain underlying customary title but make it usable in the modern sense. AAP. In the context of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Governments have committed themselves to the economic development of our communities. At: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/ALRCRefJl/2009/15.html#FootnoteB6 (viewed 9 June 2015). "From self-respect comes dignity, and from dignity comes hope": Meeting 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. Family gatherings were foregone. It was also a flagrant disregard of Britain's own existing laws, which stated that the Aboriginal people did have title rights over their own land. the belief that Australia and its islands belonged to no-one when claimed by the British in 1770) in a landmark court . I was there as a young associate working for a judge, and saw the jubilation and relief of . 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. I have been honoured in the last six weeks by being asked to deliver both the Eddie Koiki Mabo Lecture here today and the Rob Riley Memorial Lecture on Friday the 8th of May in Perth. Born in 1936, Mabo started life like so many other indigenous people, deprived of a meaningful education, denied access to whites-only buses, cinemas, even toilets. During this time he became involved in community and political organisations, such as the union movement and the 1967 Referendum campaign. 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. Unlike them, however, Mabo wasn't going to accept it. Those cases resulted in the acknowledgment that Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples had the right to claim the land they and their ancestors had lived on for thousands of years. When democracy is teetering and autocracy is rising. Celebrating Mabo's courage - Jan 2015 - JCU Australia Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that the National Archives' website and collection contain the names, images and voices of people who have died. You and I know all too well that we live shorter, poorer lives than our non-Aboriginal counterparts. Reynolds writes: But who was Eddie Mabo, why did he take up what must have seemed like a hopeless cause and what is the legacy of his campaign? Bibliography - History bibliographies - Cite This For Me "It gave us back our pride. In 1994 the Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA) was established in response to Read More Mabo Day is an official holiday in the Torres Shire, celebrated on 3 June. The preamble to the Native Title Act makes it clear that the objectives of the legislation are to: rectify the consequences of past injustices by the special measures contained in the Act to ensure that Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders receive the full recognition and status within the Australian nation to which history, their prior rights and interests, and their rich and diverse culture, fully entitle them to aspire.[11]. Realising these aspirations, is key to our economic development and prosperity as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples where our land is our ultimate asset. Then, in June 1992, the years of sacrifice and persuasion came to fruition. That permission was denied. This will always be our land. Eddie Mabo was a great hero to the Australian people. Mabo and his fellow plaintiff's fought for land on Mer - their ancestral gardens and home. To Eddie Koiki Mabo and chief justice Sir Gerard Brennan. 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. 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]. 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 . From 1973-1983 he established and became director of the Black Community School in Townsville. On 8 December 1988, the High Court ruled this legislation invalid. 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