Eddie Mabo Essay

Words: 1295
Pages: 6
Open Document
Introduction

Throughout Australian history, there have been men and women who fought for the entitlements of the indigenous people. The most respected and recognised of these is Eddie Mabo, a Torres Strait Islander. Mabo stood up for the rights of his people from a very young age all the way to his death, in order to generate changes in the policies and laws of the government. Mabo battled for his right to own the land which he had inherited from his adoptive father, a fight which was resolved only after his demise. Despite this, Eddie Mabo became one of the key influential figures in the Aboriginal rights movement, as his strong will, determination, and intelligence allowed him to bring about change.

Early Life

Mabo was born on …show more content…
The revelation changed his life forever, and motivated him even further to fight for his right to own the land which his family had lived on for generations. During his time working as a gardener at James Cook University, he would sit in on lectures. It was through this behaviour that he learned about the white legal system, and devised ways in which he could use it in order to reclaim his land. After a long and arduous battle both inside and outside the courtroom, the government began to consider Mabo’s requests. However, while they considered it, they did not want to give him ownership of land on Murray Island, instead attempting to find loopholes through which they could discredit his claims. The main excuse which they used was that Mabo was not adopted legally through the Queensland court system, instead through islander law, which does not hold any authority in their courts.
The court case to give the land on Murray Island back to the original, indigenous owners outlived Eddie however, as he passed away in 1992 after an extensive fight against cancer.

Personal Struggles

Throughout his life, Mabo was the victim of many setbacks and faced many obstacles. The first of these was his banishment from Murray Island, as he had to fight for survival from a young age, fending for himself at 16. This, coupled with society’s racist views at the time, made growing up very difficult for him. Because racism was still prevalent at the time, obtaining work and
Show More

Related Documents: Eddie Mabo Essay

Eddie Mabo Research Paper

Eddie Koiki Mabo is a famous Australian Aboriginal known for his role in campaigning for indigenous land rights and for his role in a landmark decision of the High Court of Australia which overturned the legal doctrine of terra nullius ("land belonging to nobody") which characterised Australian law with regard to land and title. Edward Koiki Mabo was born 29th of June 1936 on Murray Island in the Torres Strait between mainland Australia and Papua New Guinea. Eddie Mabo's mum died when she was giving…

Words 338 - Pages 2

Eddie Mabo Case Study

Eddie Mabo and others claimed variety of declarations about their rights to Murray Islands which was based on local customs and traditional native title. Their legal action actually began in 1982, and lasted for a decade. In 1985, the State of Queensland attempted to prevent the court action by enacting the Queensland Coast Islands Declarations Act 1985 . This Act declared that upon the ‘Island of Torres Strait becoming part of Queensland, had been invested in the Crown, in right of that state, freed…

Words 534 - Pages 3

Essay about Aboriginal Rights

Eddie Mabo was born on Murray Island, in the Torres Strait, on June 29, 1936. Speaking in 1993, his wife said that Eddie started to question his rights in 1969, when he tried to return to Murray Island to visit his father of his death bed, only to be denied entry by authorities who feared he would cause trouble. He started to work as a gardener when he was 31, and it was here he would have a conversation which would shake his understanding of his people’s land to the core. After having lunch in 1974…

Words 404 - Pages 2

Aboriginal Rights Analysis

Message : The message spread by Eddie Mabo was the importance of Aboriginal heritage in Australia and how we must accept that the Aborigine population deserves far more than what they have been given, something the majority of Australians struggled to grasp until the 3rd of June 1992, when the Mabo Decision was made. The message shared by the AIATSIS is to simply enlighten others about Aboriginal culture, history…

Words 1625 - Pages 7

Essay on Mabo, Wik & Native Title Summary Table

Mabo Native title Wik June 1992; High Court of Australia ruled in favour of Eddie Mabo’s action as he overthrew the concept of “terra nullius” 5 Indigenous plaintiffs followed Mabo from the Murray and Mer islands, they tried to re establish rights to land so the court decided that the land title of aboriginal and torres strait Islanders was recognised under Common Law Meant that where indigenous people could show continuous occupancy of and connection with the land in accordance to their traditions…

Words 855 - Pages 4

Essay on Aboriginals Notes

traditional language and observed cultural responsibilities within their customary land. Native title protects traditional laws and customs which will be passed on to future generations, similar to the life they had pre settlement. The Mabo Decision, 1992In 1982, an Eddie Mabo-led group took a case to the Supreme Court of Queensland, claiming ownership of the Murray Islands because their people had lived there for many generations. When the court case was dismissed, they group went on to appeal the case…

Words 1080 - Pages 5

Civil Rights Movement Essay

to the Indigenous people. The Freedom Rides had also led people –both Indigenous and non-Indigenous- to join the Civil Rights Movement. In 1973, Eddie Koiki Mabo was shocked to discover that the land on Murray Island, passed down by his ancestors for over sixteen generations was not legally recognised as his own. Rather than accept this injustice, Eddie began an epic ten-year fight for Australian law to recognise traditional land rights. This is when they claimed the land, ‘terra nullius’ and the…

Words 1206 - Pages 5

History Essay Draft

History Essay Draft. To what extent has the government policy towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders achieved justice since 1972 Many Aboriginal Australians of today would believe that the Australian government did not handle the indigenous land rights before 1972 well. The request for justice by the indigenous people of both Australia and Torres Strait Island was at a high and was fought to get back their traditional land. As the new white culture integrated into the new surroundings…

Words 417 - Pages 2

How Does Kinship Promote Aboriginal Spirituality

Mabo o In June 1992 Eddie Mabo filed a case in high Courts of Australia on behalf of the Murray Island. o British people came to Australia they established on the claim that Australia was “terra nullius” land belong to no one, they made that claim without any treaty…

Words 1849 - Pages 8

Religion And Belief Systems In Australia Post-1945

Studies of Religion Religion and belief systems in Australia post – 1945 Introduction * The end of the Second World War in 1945 brought huge changes throughout the world-including how people see their world. * Changes that reflected various relationships between Christian denominations; relationship between the Christian tradition and those traditions other than Christianity, and the relationship between the non-Indigenous community and indigenous peoples (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander…

Words 2218 - Pages 9