Fast FactsBirth: Monday 29th of June 1936 on Mer Island.
Death: January 21, 1992 in Brisbane Spouse: Bonita Neehow Children: 10 children Mother: Annie Mabo Father: Robert Zezou Sambo This is a map of Mer Island also known as Murray Island |
Mabo was born on Monday the 29th of June 1936 on Mer Island which is also known as Murray Island. Her mother Annie Mabo died in Childbirth and he was adopted by his uncle. His son said that: My first impressions of the struggle for social justice and human rights was of my father sitting at the kitchen table in a blue haze of cigarette smoke, writing. I was eight and at the time I did not understand what he was trying to achieve. All I wanted to know was why he was awake at 2 o'clock in the morning and why he wasn't tired. As I grew older I used to sit with my father and he used to explain what he was doing and why he was doing it. He always talked about his home, Mer, and how the land on the island would be ours when the time came. My father believed in fighting for his rights through the help of his family, the indigenous communities and the legal system. His political struggle and fight for recognition was reflected in the projects he undertook and the goals he set for himself. His fight for the rights of Torres Strait Islanders was to involve him in a range of activities and representing Torres Strait Islanders in the islands, including Mer, and on the mainland of Australia. When Mabo was 16, he was exiled from Mer island. He worked on pearling boats, cutting canes and as a railway fettler. He married Bonita Neehow and raised 10 children. He was an activist in the 1967 Referendum campaign and helped found the Townsville Aboriginal and Islander Health Service. When my father was sixteen he was involved in a teenage prank which saw him exiled from Mer by the Island Council. He left his homeland to work on pearling boats and when his exile was extended he moved to Townsville. While in Townsville he worked at various jobs including canecutter and railway labourer.
In 1959 my father married my mother Bonita Neehow. They would eventually raise ten children. The next few years were important in shaping my father. In 1960 he became the union representative on the Townsville-Mount Isa rail construction project. In 1962 he worked for the Townsville Harbour Board and became the Secretary for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advancement League. In 1967 he helped organise a seminar in Townsville: 'We the Australians: What is to Follow the Referendum?' These events were to help shape my father's interest in social justice. In 1992 Mabo won a court case on Aboriginal and torres straight Islander land rights in the high court. Unfortunately Mabo died just 5 months before the decision from the court came out. This is from the case: In the result, six members of the Court are in agreement that the common law of this country recognizes a form of native title which, in the cases where it has not been extinguished, reflects the entitlement of the indigenous inhabitants, in accordance with their laws or customs, to their traditional lands and that, subject to the effect of some particular Crown leases, the land entitlement of the Murray Islanders in accordance with their laws or customs is preserved, as native title, under the law of Queensland more information about the court case at http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/cth/HCA/1992/23.html?stem=0&synonyms=0&query=title(mabo%20%20near%20%20queensland http://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/articles/mabo-case |
THE LEGACY OF EDDIE MABO
Eddie Mabo's legacy was the Torres strait islanders and aboriginal land rights.
When the settlers came to Australia in 1788, the land was described as Terra Nullius- that the land belonged to no one.
Eddie became involved on the land rights since 1974. In 1974, he became involved in a discussion with two academics. 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 over 15 generations. 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 ...we were having lunch one day when Koiki was just speaking about his land back on Mer, or Murray Island. Henry and I realized that in his mind he thought he owned that land, so we sort of glanced at each other, and then had the difficult responsibility of telling him that he didn't own that land, and that it was Crown land. Koiki was surprised, shocked... he said and I remember him saying 'No way, it's not theirs, it’s ours.'
Mabo expressed disbelief and shock. He said: "No way, it's not theirs, it's ours." But he was wrong. Like many aboriginals and torres strait islanders he was mistaken, but also unlike the others he was not going to accept it. He dedicated the rest of his life for aboriginal and Torres strait islanders rights to the land.
After 17 years of struggle, finally, he won. On June the 3rd 1992 Eddie won a court case on aboriginal rights in the high court but, unfortunately, Eddie did not live long enough to see it as he died 5 months before. Even though Eddie wasn't there his efforts were not wasted. Just 5 months after his death, the legal dicision was made - to over turn the Terra Nullius. The Mabo legislation was passed four days before Christmas, 1993. Effective from January 1, 1994, the Native Title Act provided for the recognition and protection of native title, the setting up of a National Native Title Tribunal to adjudicate on claims and the invalidating of past government acts that extinguished native title. Eddie changed what Australia once is or was into Australia now and he changed it forever.
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ttaVv5J63A
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TIMELINE
https://prezi.com/ivnni9u9kvbt/eddie-mabo-timeline/
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-03/mabo-a-timeline/4047186
© Copyright
https://www.reconciliation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Lets-Talk-Mabo.pdf
http://www.biographybase.com/biography/Mabo_Eddie.html
http://dl.nfsa.gov.au/module/1450/
http://www.racismnoway.com.au/teaching-resources/factsheets/54.html
http://hsc.csu.edu.au/ab_studies/rights/global/social_justice_global/sjwelcome.response.front.htm
http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/cth/HCA/1992/23.html?stem=0&synonyms=0&query=title(mabo%20%20near%20%20queensland
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-18291022
http://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/articles/eddie-koiki-mabo