Eddie Mabo and Others v. the State of Queensland, 1992. 1 The Significance of Court Recognition of Landrights in Australia

Authors

Merete Falck Borch

Abstract

In Australia, Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders have made much less use of the courts in the struggle for recognition of their rights to the land than, for example, the Indians in North America have. There have only been two major landrights cases in Australia; the first one, Milirrpum and others v. Nabalco and the Commonwealth, was brought by the Yolngu of north-eastern Arnhemland in 1969 in protest against the granting by the federal government of a mining lease to Nabalco on their land. The case was decided by the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory in 1971. The second case, Mabo and others v. the State of Queensland was an action initiated in 1982 by the Meriam people from the Torres Strait Islands to prevent an increase in government powers over their land. The case was finally decided in the High Court of Australia in June 1992.

Recommended Citation

Borch, Merete Falck, Eddie Mabo and Others v. the State of Queensland, 1992. 1 The Significance of Court Recognition of Landrights in Australia, Kunapipi, 14(1), 1992.
Available at:https://ro.uow.edu.au/kunapipi/vol14/iss1/3