James Wilson reports on Eddie Mabo’s victory over colonialism
Prime Minister David Cameron recently attracted headlines when he suggested that “with so many of the problems of the world, we are responsible for their creation in the first place”. Opinion was divided, both on the accuracy of his statement and the merits of him saying it whether true or not.
Offensive gloss
One thing Britain did create, in 1788, was the modern state of Australia. At the time, it was considered there were three ways in which title to land could be acquired: conquest, cession, and terra nullius—land with no human occupants. For the last of those concepts, an offensive gloss was added by European lawyers to the effect that “primitive tribes” did not count, as they had no recognisable legal system. The Australian Aborigines found themselves labelled as such.
Lumped in with the same fate were the inhabitants of the tiny Murray Islands, three islands with a combined area of nine square miles, situated in the Torres Strait (the sea between Australia and Papua New Guinea). The islanders were descendants of the Meriam people,
