Elder Jones of Dalungbara Tribe

Eddie Mabo, Common law and the false doctrine of 'terra nullius',

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Edward Koiki Mabo (1936-1992) was a warrior for Australia's indigenous People.

Britain took land from Australia's indigenous People wrongfully, without compensation and contrary to the spirit of British property law.

The colonists officially disregarded recognition of Aboriginal ownership of land based on the economically convenient concept of ' Terra Nullius ', that is, on the false doctrine that Australia was ' unoccupied ' at the time of colonisation.

Eddie Mabo
Eddie Mabo was born on 29th June 1936 on the island of Mer, being the son of Robert Sambo and Annie Mabo of the Piadaram clan. Mer is one of the Murray Islands group in Torres Straight.
His mother died in childbirth, and so he was adopted under customary law by his uncle Benny Mabo and aunt Maiga.
He worked in the fishing industry and in 1957 moved to the mainland.
In 1959 he married Bonita Nehow.
In 1960 and 1961 he was a Union representative on the Townsville to Mount Isa rail construction project, then from 1962 to 1967 he worked for the Townsville Harbour Board.
From 1962 to 1969 he was the secretary of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advancement League, and resigned from the League because of the involvement of people he considered to be insincere 'do-gooders'.
He became President of the all-black Council for the Rights of Indigenous People, which established a legal aid service, a medical service, and the Black Community School.

From 1973 - 1983, he was director of the Black Community School, Townsville;
1974 - 1978, a member of the Aboriginal Arts Council.
1975 - 1980, President of the Yumba Meta Housing Association.
1975 - 1978, member of the National Aboriginal Education Committee.
1978 - 1981, assistant Vocational Officer at the Aboriginal Employment and Training Branch Commonwealth Employment Service.
In 1978 and 1979 he was a member of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies Education Advisory Committee.

In 1981 at the conference on land rights at James Cook University, the decision was made to take the Murray Islanders' land case to the High Court.
The Land rights case was launched in 1982, the Plaintiffs being Eddie Mabo, Sam Passi, Father Dave Passi, James Rice and Celuia Mapo Salee.
They claimed Murray Island and surrounding reefs had been continuously inhabited and possessed by the Meriam people. They also recognized Crown sovereignty, so they claimed their rights to the land had not been extinguished by European settlement.

In 1985 he was a Field Officer at the QED Townsville Aboriginal Legal Aid Service, and received a research grant from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies to study land tenure in Torres Strait.
In 1985 in an attempt to retrospectively abolish native land title in Torres Strait, the Queensland Government passed the Queensland Coast Islands Declaratory Act 1985, but in 1988 the High Court ruled that the Queensland Coast Islands Declaratory Act 1985 was contrary to the Commonwealth Racial Discrimination Act 1975.
Eddie Mabo died in Brisbane on 21st January 1992.

Common law and the false doctrine of 'terra nullius'
- Aborigines are the first occupants of Australia -
Their lands were taken wrongfully, without compensation and contrary to the spirit of British property law

In the 1700's there were three ways, under common law principles, as to how Britain could take possession of another country.
1. If a country was uninhabited, Britain could claim and settle that country, thus claiming ownership.
2. If a country was already inhabited, Britain could ask for permission from the indigenous people to buy some of their land, or
3. Take over the country by invasion and conquest. However, even after winning an invasion, Britain would have to respect the rights of indigenous people.

In regards to settling in Australia, Britain did not follow any of these rules.
Australia was already inhabited by Aborigines, and Britain, instead of admitting it was invading land that belonged to Aboriginal people, wrongfully acted as if it was settling an empty land, uninhabited by humans.
This is what is meant by 'terra nullius'.

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.
This recognition was delivered in a 6:1 verdict in favour of Mabo, in Mabo vs State of Queensland (No. 2) (1992) 175 CLR 1, overturning the old legal doctrine of 'terra nullius'.
The High Court also indicated that native title is extinguished by grants of exclusive possession, such as freehold (fee simple title) and residential leases.

In 1993 the Australian Federal Government introduced legislation to established mechanisms to validate the land titles of the occupiers who may have been called into question by the decision, and established claims procedures for indigenous people who maintained that their traditional rights had not been extinguished.
The Native Title Act 1993 was the outcome.
It can no longer be assumed that crown land, national parks and state forests etc are all owned by the crown.

Unfortunately, 'native title' as per the Native Title Act has become problematical.
Native title has been treated as a 'creature' of the Native Title Act, rather than understanding that this legislation was never intended to change the concept of native title at common law (as stated by Noel Pearson, lawyer and Cape York Aboriginal leader on 28th August 2002)