Social Justice & Action
Mabo day. Here’s why it is so significant
On 3 June each year, Mabo Day commemorates the life and advocacy of Eddie Koiki Mabo.
Born on 29 June, 1936 in the village of Las, on the island of Mer (Murray Island) in the Torres Strait, Eddie Mabo grew up immersed in Meriam culture and developed a deep appreciation for respecting other people’s land.
In 1959, Mabo moved to Townsville where he married Australian-born South Sea Islander, Bonita Neehow. Together, the couple raised ten children.
‘No way, it’s not theirs, it’s ours!’
While on the mainland, Mabo became a prominent community activist, serving as the President of the Council for the Rights of Indigenous People.
During his time working as a gardner at James Cook University, Mabo reportedly engaged in a conversation that would spark long-term change for Indigenous land rights.
University historians Noel Loos and Henry Reynolds reflect on the moment:
“We were having lunch one day when Koiki was speaking about his land back on Mer, or Murray Island. Henry and I realised 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 went on to deliver a speech at a land rights conference, where he explained the traditional land ownership and inheritance system that was followed by his community back in Mer. AIATSIS notes a lawyer in the audience reportedly encouraged Mabo to use his circumstances as a test case to claim land rights in the court system.
A decade-long fight gets underway
In 1982, Mabo, alongside fellow Mer Islanders Reverend David Passi, Celuia Mapo Salee, Sam Passi, and James Rice, began their legal claim in the High Court of Australia. They argued that they had rights to the ownership of their lands on the island, and with Mabo named as first plaintiff, the case came to be informally known as the ‘Mabo case.’
Court arguments would continue for many years, and almost a decade on from the start of their legal claim, Eddie Mabo passed away on 21 January, 1992, aged 55.
Less than five months later, the High Court of Australia ruled in favour of Mabo and his fellow plaintiffs. This served as a landmark moment in our nation, overturning the concept of ‘terra nullius’ (Latin for land belonging to no one or nobody’s land.) During European settlement of Australia, this concept was cited to help justify the British Crown’s claim on the land.
The Mabo case saw Australian law, for the first time, recognise the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to their lands based on their traditional connection to and occupation of their Country.
One year later, the federal parliament passed the Native Title Act 1993, creating a pathway for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to make a native title claim over their lands.
A legacy that lives on
The 1992 Mabo decision has had a lasting impact on our country, and for Mabo’s descendants, it’s a point of bittersweet reflection.
“I sit down in the national library and I go through his papers and it’s like I’m reintroducing myself to him all over again,” Mabo’s daughter Gail, told the ABC back in 2022.
“[They] are stories of a man who was a gardener, but came to achieve other things.
“[His grandchildren] need to know connection to space, connection to their land on Murray Island, and these come through stories.”
Dr Bryan Keon-Cohen AM CQ, a junior barrister working on the Mabo case, recalled notifying the Mer community once the High Court’s decision was made.
“I went upstairs to the barristers’ chambers in the High Court building and rang the only phone number I knew that existed on Murray Island, which was a public phone booth outside [the council],” Dr Keon-Cohen told the ABC.
“A lady answered and I said, ‘Hello, my name is Bryan … I’m ringing you from the High Court … you’ve won your case.’
“”She dropped the phone and I just heard, ‘We won, we won’ and I understand the phone was left swinging in the breeze and I was left swinging with it.”
Mabo Day marks the final day of National Reconciliation Week.