Eddie Mabo,s Life Story




Eddie Koiki Mabo was born in 1936 on Mer Island known as Murray Island, one of the Torres Strait Islands. His mum died shortly after his birth and he was raised by his Uncle & Aunty.
While Eddie was growing up he was educated about his family life and land from his relatives, but at that time life was regulated by the Queensland Government. Eddie was displaced from his home as a result of being a teenage prank.
After this problem he decided to work on the pearling boats, but his displacement was extended, so Eddie decided to move to Townsville and get a job on the railway.
This was one key turning point for Eddie he then became a spokes person for the railroads.

At the age of 23 he then decided to marry Bonita, they had 10 children in which they raised.
In the next 10 yrs Eddie had numerous amounts of jobs, but ended up at James Cook University in Townsville as a gardener and taught the students about island culture.



Being on campus allowed him to have access to the library in which he would read books written by the white people about his people and he was able to attend a few lectures.
In 1974 Eddie had a discussion with a few professors at the Uni about his land on Mer or Murray Island .The professors realised that Eddie had in his mind he owned land back on Murray, but they had to break the news to him that he didn’t own any land it was Crown land. Mabo was very shocked about this when they told him.
In 1981 at the University a Land Rights Conference was held, Mabo made a speech where he spoke clearly about land ownership & land inheritance in Murray Island. One comment Mabo stated was that it is my fathers & grandfathers, grandmothers land, I am related to it, it is my identity. That’s why I need to fight for it, so I don’t’ loose my identity to the land. A lawyer that was there suggested that there should be a test case to claim Land Rights through Court.
The Islanders decided to challenge the legal principle of Terra Nullius( Europeans could see no law in ownership of the land it was claimed by the British.) in a High Court and Eddie would be leader.
The courts ruled that Eddie had no right to inherit Mabo land.
Eddie was devastated, but kept on trying all avenues he even appealed to the High Court of Australia.
Eddie decided to take time out from being involved with the Mabo case he decided to relax by painting or working on his boat. After many years of fighting for his rights it started to take a strain on him and it affected his health.
In January 1992 Eddie Mabo died of cancer, this man was only 56 years of age.
Five months later the High court announced its historic decision, overturning the legality of Terra Nullius ( no mans land).
One major decision that did come out from the court that the Native Title existed and it was up to the Indigenous people of Australia to determine who had ownership of this Australian land.
That’s why today he is well known, this case is known as Mabo in Australia, and he is so recognised for the work he contributed to for the right of his people 
Three years after Eddie had died there was a traditional mourning period where his people gathered in Townsville  for a special memorial service. His grave site was vandalised but his people reburied him on his Murray Island. On the night of his burial the islanders performed a traditional ceremony that has not been seen for 80 years, he was buried as a king.

That’s why today Eddie Mabo the Torres Strait Islander man is a famous figure in Australian History  for his role in society fighting for Indigenous rights and the Terra Nullius .





Questions
Watch a video on Eddie Mabo
 
Research the life of Eddie Mabo and create a poster display. Make sure you research his work on land rights and his personal life.
Research and discuss the Mabo case. Imagine you are a newspaper journalist attending the court case that is shown in the clip. Write a short editorial, commenting on the decision, its importance and the impact you think it will have on Australia
http://dl.nfsa.gov.au/module/1380/
Draw a map of Mer Island and label it.
True or False activity sheet. Then rewrite each sentence to make it a true statement. E.g. T
Read a closed passage on Eddie Mabo and answer questions?
Timeline
 What sort of man was Eddie Mabo?
What did he and the Mabo case achieve?
How was Eddie Mabo seen by others?
Students to construct their own view of Eddie Mabo
Art work draw Eddie Mabo.