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During this presentation we will be discussing Eddie Mabo and the place where he comes from in terms of country and discussing why this connection to country is significant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their community.

We will be describing the actions of Eddie Mabo, the history of these actions, and the legacy in which he achieved.

We will also describe the obstacles and challenges faced by Eddie Mabo as his activism and campaign escalated into the landmark case as that is still widely recognised to this day. Question 1: Eddie Mabo was born Eddie ‘Koiki Sambo on the 29 June, 1936 within the th

Murray group of islands, at Las, which is located on the island of Mer. His maternal mother died shortly after birth and he was adopted by his maternal uncle and aunt in accordance with Islander custom. Eddie’s Surname was changed from Sambo to Mabo, from early childhood. Eddie absorbed the Meriam culture, and as he participated in fishing and farming activities on the island his connection to country grew within him whilst being taught about his family’s land.

Eddie along with the majority of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people shared a distinct connection to the county in which they inhabited as once described by a Palyku woman country is “much more than a place. Rock, tree, river, hill, animal, human – all were formed of the same substance by the Ancestors who continue to live in land, water, sky. Country is filled with relations speaking language and following Law, no matter the shape of that relation is human, rock, crow, wattle. Country is loved, needed, and cared for, and in return the country loves, needs, and cares for her people. Country is family, culture, identity. Country is self.” Furthermore, for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the term country is the considered interdependent relationship between an individual and their ancestral lands and seas. For many non-Indigenous Australians, we refer to country or land as an item of ownership, whereas the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people speak of the country and land as it is a person above all else. To understand your country and have a healthy relationship with the country, you will have the understanding that you are of great health, wellbeing and your life outcomes will prosper accordingly. Connection to country is intertwined with the term caring for country, which correlates to participating in activities with the main objective to promote

spiritual, human and ecological health. This is also important to the continual development in rural and remote locations with the hope to achieve the conservation of globally valued environmental and cultural assets.

Question 2 Describe the actions of this person, the history of these actions, and the legacy achieved.

Eddie’s life started like many other indigenous people deprived of what non Indigenous people would consider a meaningful education, however as Eddie grew he learnt English at a state school with special assistance from a teacher Bob Miles who helped him to recognise his ability and stressed the importance of English for his future involvement in mainland culture. Eddie’s fluency in English placed him working as an interpreter for medical research teams within the Torres Strait as well as giving him the opportunity to hold leadership positions when he was interacting with non- indigenous. There was a turning point in Eddie's Life in 1972, where he was denied access to Mer island to visit his father who was suffering from tuberculosis, the reason Eddie was denied access to the island was the Government authorities had

refused access as they explained Eddie had not lived there for so long. Several weeks later Eddie received word of his father's demise, Eddie never forgave the Government for this injustice and in turn this began his battle for justice and political status. It wasn’t until 1981, during a speech that Eddie was giving at a land rights conference at the James Cook University explaining the land ownership and inheritance system that the Meriam culture was aligned with. From this point a Perth based solicitor agreed to take on the case, alongside funding from the AIATSIS and recruitment of barristers the steps of motion were put into place for what is now widely recognised as the MABO case. The MABO case challenged the Australian legal system from two main perspectives, one being the assumption that Aborignal and Torres Strait Islander peoples had no concept of land ownership before the colonisation 1788 ( terra nullius), and the other that all ownership of land and any existing land rights to be abolished and land forfeited to the Crown.

With legal proceedings beginning in 1982 claiming ‘native title’ in relation to the Murray islands, when Mabo and a group of Meriam men brought action against the State of Queensland and the Commonwealth of Australia. The Queensland parliament passed the Queensland Coast Islands Declatory Act 1985 in an attempt to extinguish the claim rights of the Meriam people to the

Murray islands, however Mabo argued that the act was in conflict with the Racial Discrimination Act 1975. It wasn't until 1992 where the High Court Judges upheld and ruled that the lands of this continent were in fact not ‘terra nullius’ and the Meriam people were in short were ‘entitled as against the whole world to possession, use and enjoyment of the Murray Islands. The Native Title Act which was passed in 1993 was essentially the correction of 200 year injustice where all legal rights and claim to land from the Australian and Indigenous were dismissed by all legal acknowledgment. Passing this act was a major achievement and the Mabo legacy and the inspiration for many Aboriginal and Indigenous people in their efforts to achieve equality in which we consider today as a human right.

Question 3: Describe the obstacles and challenges faced by the individual as their activism or campaign escalated Eddie Mabo was an individual who acted upon gaining land rights for indigenous people and his role in a landmark decision in the High Court of Australia. He had gone through a number of challenges as a result of being from

a lower class, as an indigenous man. This commonly included many cases of racism and discrimination, as well as lack of respect from others. Eddie Mabo was at a disadvantage due to his prior records which included, being guilty of being under the influence of alcohol and breaking customary laws at the age of 16. This led to his expulsion from the island, where he then travelled to Northern Queensland to work various jobs, eventually settling in Townsville where he married his wife at the age of 23. In 1996, Eddie attempted to visit his ill father on Murray Island, only to be refused entry by authorities who believed him to be a “troublemaker”. From there on, Eddie took it to his interest and personal right, to begin taking action upon the known inequalities which he would work to balance. In 1974, Eddie discovered that he didn’t have the legal title over his land on Mer Island. This caused him to feel the need to take action upon land rights for Indigenous peoples. Therefore, in August 1981, Mabo had spoken at a conference about land rights in the Torres Strait where the decision was made to take the Murray Islanders to court. In 1982, Mabo and four other Torres Strait Islanders began legal action against the State of Queensland to establish who owned Murray Island. The government at the time was heavily concerned by the case and passed laws.

However, this is where Mabo faced a challenge due to the ruling of the incompatibility between the Queensland Coast Islands Declaratory Act 1985 (Qld), and the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) on the 8th of December, 1988. Flaws and down-findings were found on a series of disputed facts which were included in the case. This further resulted in the denial of Eddie’s claim to land on Murray Island by Justice Moynihan. This was because of the fact that he was heavily critical of Mabo and his statements for his case at the time. This eventually worked in his favour as the case reached the High Court on June 3rd 1992 where the Meriam people held native title over Murray Island. Despite these ongoing issues that had impacted his ability to move forth with his campaign, Mabo had refused to give up his interests to the denomination of others. This campaign was a 10-year battle that had reformed Australia’s history and policies....