Fire Carriers

Mabo Day

Mabo day is an Indigenous Torres Strait Islander holiday celebrated across Australia on June 3rd every year to honour the activist Eddie Koiki Mabo and his historic 1992 High Court victory. Eddie Mabo won a massive, historic court case that changed Australian history.

Eddie Mabo was a Torres Strait Islander man from a small island called Mer. Eddie’s family and other Indigenous Australians lived on the island and cared for the land for thousands of years. 

In 1871-1872, there was an old British rule called terra nullius. This phrase means “land belonging to no one.” When British settlers came to Australia a long time ago, they pretended that no one owned the land because there were no European-style houses or fences. Because of this law, the Australian Government claimed that the Indigenous Australians didn’t own their traditional lands. Eddie knew that it was completely unfair.

Eddie decided to fight for his rights with his friends. They took their case to the High Court of Australia which is the most powerful court in Australia. They spent 10 years talking to lawyers and explaining their traditional laws to prove that the land has always belonged to them.

On June 3rd the High Court made their decision and Eddie won. The High Court ruled that Indigenous Australians were the original owners of the land and that they made a new legal right called Native Title, which allowed Torres Strait islander and Aboriginal people to officially claim back their traditional lands.

Sadly, Eddie passed away from an illness just 5 months before the big news got announced. He never got to see his victory, but all his hard work paid off for Australia.

By Sophia Koukoumanos