Mabo Day – 3 June

Yesterday was Mabo Day. Mabo Day commemorates Eddie Koiki Mabo and his decade-long effort to make the Australian Government recognise that his people owned Mer Island in the Torres Strait.

On 3 June, 1992, the High Court of Australian acknowledged that Mabo and his people had owned the land. This overturned the fiction of terra nullius (land belonging to no-one). Terra nullius was the European legal concept that Australia and the Torres Strait Islands were not owned by Indigenous peoples because they did not ‘use’ the land in ways Europeans believed constituted some kind of legal possession. This idea was used to give legitimacy for the British, and later colonial and Australian, governments to allow the dispossession of all Indigenous peoples of their land and access to it.

Unfortunately, Eddie Mabo died 5 months before the historic High Court decision.

Mabo Day has been celebrated on June 3 in Australia since 2002 as part of National Reconciliation Week. Mabo Day celebrates as a significant turning point in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ rights in Australia and is an important symbol of truth and justice in Australia.

Yugara word for this week

Grandfather: Yuguinpin (You-gwin-pin)

What is Kalari?

Kalari means ‘message stick’ in Yugara language and is name of the YSS Indigenous Working Group.

Kalari aims to increase the acknowledgement and celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and history at YSS, through an inclusion of Indigenous perspectives and in line with the YSS school values.

Kalari is made up of Indigenous and non-Indigenous volunteer parents and anyone can join! For more information or to get involved about contact Aren Healy at mamaaren101@gmail.com.