2b. Outline the importance of the following for 2b Outline the importance of the following for The Land Rights Movement MABO NATIVE TITLE WIK

The Aboriginal Tent Embassy in front of Parliament House in 1972

HISTORY The Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people have been living on their land for (possibly) 70,000 years Their whole spirituality and culture is centered on the land Captain Cook declared Eastern Australia to be the property of the British Monarch in 1770 at Endeavour River, Queensland. The land was assumed to belong to no one. This situation is described as TERRA NULLIUS They did not enter into a treaty with the people as had been done in Canada and New Zealand

HISTORY (continued) The history and culture of Aboriginal people were completely ignored. The British people just didn’t understand their way of life By declaring the land to be Terra Nullius, the British were able to claim that they had ‘discovered’ it. Under International law, Terra Nullius land could be taken over by anyone who would put it to productive use. In 1834, John Batman claimed that he made an agreement with the Aboriginal people for 500,000 acres in the Port Philip district in exchange for money and other items

HISTORY (continued) The Government of the time disallowed this on the basis that it owned the land and Batman, who was a private person, was not legally able to make such a deal As settlement expanded, so did the need for agricultural land Some Aboriginal people were willing to share the land and this led to some examples of co-existence. This was not the norm however, and fights for land became common

TIME LINE 1963 The Bark Petition 1965 Freedom Ride 1966 Wave Hill Walk-off 1967 “Citizenship” referendum 1971 Aboriginal Tent Embassy 1971 Gove Land Rights Case 1973-4 The Woodward Inquiry 1975 Gurindji Handback 1976 Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1982 Eddie Mabo took his case to the High Court of Australia 1992 Mabo dies of cancer 1993 The High Court found in favour of Mabo – The Native Title Act was passed 1995 Indigenous Land Corporation established 1996 Wik case 1999 Senate disallowance of NT Native Title laws

LAND RIGHTS MOVEMENT In 1976 the Fraser Government passed a law that gave Aboriginal people some land rights - Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 This did not mean that Aboriginals actually got (all) their land The Law did not include States - only Territories

Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 In Australian history, the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 established the basis upon which Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory could claim rights to land based on traditional occupation. The Act was strongly based on the recommendations of Justice Woodward, who chaired the Aboriginal Land Rights Commission (The Woodward Royal Commission). The Whitlam government first introduced a Bill to Parliament; however, this lapsed upon the dismissal of the government in 1975. The conservative government, led by Malcolm Fraser, reintroduced a Bill, though not of the same content, and this was signed by the Governor-General of Australia on 16 December 1976. The Act, the first of the Aboriginal Land Rights Acts, and was significant in that it allowed a claim of title if claimants could provide evidence of their traditional association with land.

Eddie Mabo & Native Title In 1788, the British took the land from Australia's Indigenous People wrongfully and without Compensation The false doctrine of 'terra nullius' perpetuated until the High Court, on 3rd June 1992, recognized that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people may still hold common law title or native title to land where it has not been lost by valid acts of government, or the loss of traditional connection with the land. In 1993 the Australian Federal Government introduced legislation to established procedures for indigenous people who maintained that their traditional rights had not been extinguished. ‘The Native Title Act 1993’. The most significant outcome of the Mabo High Court ruling, is that for the first time Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, it gave legal recognition to the fact that Indigenous land ownership existed in Australia before European settlement .

EDDIE “KOIKI” MABO Eddie Mabo was born on the Torres Strait island of Mer in 1936 He was the 5th child of Robert and Poipe Sambo After his mother died, he was adopted by his uncle Benny Mabo and took his name The British had renamed the island of Mer to Murray, but things related to the island and its people are called Meriam He left home (Mer) at 16 and worked in northern Queensland He inherited Mabo land but his ownership was disputed in the courts

MAP OF THE TORRES STRAIT Murray Is. MAP OF THE TORRES STRAIT

EDDIE “KOIKI” MABO (continued) On 20th May, 1982 Mabo and other Murray Islanders took his land case to the High Court of Australia He claimed that his people had been owners of their lands for at least 6,000 years The case took 11 years In 1993 the High Court decided that Mabo’s people did own their land on Murray Is. Eddie had died of cancer in 1992.

SUMMARY OF THE MABO CASE This landmark case finally recognised that Native Title did exist in Australia and that Indigenous people still had the right to make claims over their traditional lands. Eddie Mabo had successfully proved that his people had a system of ownership and management of land which existed before the British arrived, and which still continues today. While the court did find that the process of settlement of Australia had extinguished native title in many areas, it also finally overturned the myth that Australia was ‘terra nullius’.

SUMMARY OF THE MABO CASE (continued) The Mabo case stimulated both increased awareness and support for Indigenous rights, and a backlash of fear as Australians began to consider what the case may mean. The government chose to respond by establishing a national Native Title Act. While many saw the Native Title Act as a positive move forward, as it established a way for Indigenous people to make land rights claims without going to court, the Native Title Act was very controversial and many amendments were made before conservative politicians would pass it into law. http://reconciliaction.org.au/nsw/education-kit/land-rights/#mabo

The PASTORALISTS issue The Australian economy depends on mining and cattle-raising. This is all done on Aboriginal land The problem of Aboriginal ownership, mining and cattle-raising remained. The question was: Can mining and pastoral activity co exist on Aboriginal land?

The WIK decision of 1996 In 1996 the High Court decided that pastoral leases did not extinguish native title The decision established the principle of co-existence Aboriginal people could own their land and negotiate with commercial companies to use that land for the payment of a rent.

A summary of the importance of the Dreaming for the Land Rights Movement Aboriginal Spirituality is founded on the principle that Indigenous people have an inextricable connection to the land – they are part of the land and the land is part of their being Their Ancestor Spirits gave them rights, obligations and responsibilities – to care for the land and use it in the expression of their spirituality Sacred places are critical for the ceremonial life That land is home to – and provides the origin of – totems, sacred objects and the Ancestor Spirits The declaration of Terra Nullius deprived the Aboriginal people of these principles Mabo, Wik and the Native Title Act clarified the Government’s position in regard to land claims and – to some extent – restored the rights of Aboriginal People who had maintained continual contact with their land

THE LAND RIGHTS MOVEMENT – Essay writing task In the long history of the Aboriginal People of Australia, no more important legislation than that associated with the Land Rights movement (i.e. Native Title, Mabo and Wik) has been passed by the Parliament. Using your class resource booklet and the Internet, prepare in your own words an essay that… Examines the issues (the history) leading up to - and causing - the “formation” of the Land Rights movement Analyses the importance of - and the connection between - the Dreaming and the Land Rights movement (page 26) Gives the dates of each court case and/or piece of legislation Details the main players on both sides – and their roles Describes the outcomes (effects) of each of these pieces of legislation Lists the positive and negative issues affecting both the Aboriginal and white populations as a result of these pieces of legislation Describes the current situation (20110 Class time available:- 2 lessons; due date: end of week 4. Use footnotes to cite all your references. Use sophisticated language and don’t plagiarise.