Storylines: Mabo

The Australian High Commission presents a selection of Aboriginal feature films and documentaries curated by renowned Australian film director Rachel Perkins, bringing the stories of Australia’s first peoples to Africa. As Aboriginal people claimed the right to determine their future in the political world, so too did Aboriginal people claim the right to portray themselves and their stories. In the process, Aboriginal filmmaking also evolved from its humble beginnings to become recognised on its artistic merits as world class cinema.

MABO

In 1973 Eddie ‘Koiki’ Mabo was shocked to discover that the ownership of the land his ancestors had passed down on Murray Island in the Torres Strait Islands for over 16 generations, was not legally recognised as theirs.

Rather than accept this injustice, he began an epic fight for Australian law to recognise traditional land rights. Eddie never lived to see his land returned to him, but the name Mabo is known in every household throughout the country.

In January 1992, at only 55, Eddie died of cancer. Five months later the High Court overturned the notion of terra nullius. Underscoring this epic battle is Eddie’s relationship with his wife Bonita. MABO is as much a love story as a document of one man’s fight to retain what he believed was legally his.

MABO traces Eddie’s life - from a carefree young man of 17, through his courtship and marriage to his one true love, up to his death and the handing down of the High Court decision on that historic day - 3rd June 1992.