In this journal article Mercer, discusses the on-going debate surrounding Indigenous Australians land rights claims from the mid-1980s onwards. He then goes on to discuss that the law surrounding land always adhered to the principles of Governor Bourke’s’ Proclamation, until the landmark decision handed down in the Mabo case. However, he concludes that in regard to political climate little else has been done in the advancement of land rights’ legislation in regard to the Indigenous Australian population. He also provides a comparison between how Australia and Canada have responded to Indigenous claims of land, saying that Canada has acted far…
In 1778 captain James Cook discovered Australia claiming ‘Terra Nullius’ meaning land belonging to no one, since then Aboriginal Australians the original inhabitants of the land have struggled for land and social rights as well as the freedom from persecution and the capability to be educated. Redfern Jarjum College has opened its doors to 24 Aboriginal children who were unable to thrive in the mainstream education system with a program specially designed to accommodate their unique cultural needs.…
Noel Pearson’s ‘An Australian History for us all’ discusses his approach to trying to solve some of the most systemic problems facing Australian Aboriginals today. Through the uses of various language techniques and context, Pearson’s speech details the struggles of the relationship between the first European settlers and Aboriginal Australians.…
Evidently, the land rights movement involves the ideas of the Wik, Mabo decision, as well as the Native Title. Aboriginal people are able to rebuild connections with their spirituality, through the land. Aspects of Indigenous Aboriginal spirituality such as ancestral spirit beings, totems, sacred duties and rituals are held within the land.…
Australian history has been tied to British history since its discovery by James cook in 1778, and its colonial occupation, this creates issues of identity for Australians reading their history. To an 18th…
Soon after while having lunch with historians Henry Reynolds and Noel Loos, Mabo was made aware that the Australian Courts worked on the principal that Australia was “Terra Nullius”- land belonging to no one, prior to European Settlement.…
When Captain Cook first came to the shores of what became known as Australia, he encountered inhabitants of the land … but despite that evidence of occupation he nevertheless proclaimed it ‘terra nullius’, or ‘uninhabited land’. It is ironic, indeed absurd, that such a term could be applied to peoples whose lives were so intimately integrated into and a part of ‘place’. By comparison, the European ‘discoverers’ were transients—wanderers with far fewer ties to their own homelands.…
that following the law of evolution and survival of the fittest, the inferior races of mankind must give place to the higher type of man. It seems a law of nature.” This demonstrates that the British believed they were the superior race, and in an attempt to justify their future actions it was claimed to be “a law of nature.” Additionally, the British claimed the land was “Terra Nullius” meaning ‘the land belonged to no one,’ as the Tasmanian Aboriginals did not implement any recognized law of property. Also, Tasmanian Aboriginals were…
Discuss how Australian government improves the lives of Aboriginal nowadays and how this promotes Australian cultural diversity.…
In the early days of the European settlement of Australia, especially during the 1800’s, it was common for large numbers of Aboriginal people (men, women and children) to be massacred by the white settlers, including by police and soldiers. Most of these were not reported and were known to only a few people. Therefore, there was no action taken to punish the offenders and indeed, there was approval from most white settlers and government officials for this to continue to happen. The Myall Creek massacre in 1838 proved to be a turning point in such attitudes.…
However, throughout history, there have been numerous occasions where race and ethnicity determined status and because of that, people of colour and background were marginalised within the society. An example of abuse of power because of white supremacy in history includes the colonisation of Australia in the 18th century by Britain. The British claimed Australia to be ‘Terra nullius,’ – a Latin expression meaning…
Terra nullius is a Latin expression deriving from Roman law meaning "nobody's land", which is used in international law to describe territory which has never been subject to the sovereignty of any state, or over which any prior sovereign has expressly or implicitly relinquished sovereignty. Sovereignty over territory which is terra nullius may be acquired through occupation, though in some cases doing so would violate an international law or treaty. (Wiki) Using the expression of Terra Nullius to condone this action Aboriginal people were then forcibly removed off their land. They were uprooted not only from their land but also from resources and control over their lives and movement. Violence and massacres were inflicted on Aboriginal communities. Another way this was done was through the introduction of disease by the Europeans was inflicted upon Indigenous peoples. The next contributing factor is Colonialism which is known as the removal of Aboriginal children from their families, or refers to the imposition of a political, economic and social system onto a sovereign people. Colonialism means to conquer, to dominate, to render submissive. It was the formation of Missions and Reserves. Along with the Denial of Citizenship Rights. There was no acknowledgment in the Australian Constitution. It was in this time that the creation of protection and welfare boards and state Ordinances took place. Colonialism revolved around Cultural, Political and Economic domination. Racism is the final factor associated with the stolen generation. Racism is Discrimination and Exclusion from all sectors of society, such as (education, training, employment,). Non-Aboriginal control of Aboriginal administration and policy. It is based on the notion of cultural and racial superiority. Racism assumes that certain groups are culturally, biologically, genetically, and…
When Australia was colonised, in 1788 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were already on the land, living with political and legal and social systems in a community. Aboriginal land was taken over by British colonists, saying the land belonged to no one, which is referred to as, “Terra Nullius”, but was then taken over by white people. In 1937, the Government held a conference on Aboriginal matters, which agreed that Aboriginal people should be introduced into the wider white population.…
The European invasion of Australia in 1780 impacted upon the lives of all the Aboriginal people that lived in and around the invaded areas. When Captain Cook landed in Australia, he declared it as Terra Nullius, and this alone gives a significant insight as to the mentality of the British and their willingness to acknowledge the Aboriginal people and the importance that the land played in their daily lives. As the invaders brought with them their laws, ideals, diseases, livestock and people, the need for land increased and settlers began to venture outwards from the main settlements, the frontier broadened and the Aboriginal population began to shrink. The encroachment upon the land meant that many Aboriginal people were now being forced to come into closer contact with the Europeans. In doing this, the frontier affected the Aboriginal people in ways that ensured that their lives would never be the same and that European ideals affected their lives not only on the frontier but for generations too follow. The invasion of the Australian frontier affected areas in Aboriginal lives such as dispossession, disease, large-scale violence, which led to resistance.…
Captain cook arrived to Australia in 1770 and it was believed that there was at least 750 000 Aborigines living in 600 different tribes in Australia. Aboriginal people formed their own way of living with their isolation of external influences with dreamtime, their religious and spiritual belief. The Aboriginal people believed in terra nullius (meaning 'land belonging to no one') and soon after, the Europeans took away terra nullius and claimed to own the land. The European colonial governments started to grant, lease and sell land to white settlers and made money from it.…