Jun 29, 2016
Edward Koiki Mabo’s 80th birthday
This Doodle’s Key Themes
Born on the Australian island of Mer in 1936, Edward Koiki Mabo was an energetic campaigner for the rights of Indigenous people and their claim to the lands declared terra nullius, or belonging to no one, despite the history of its earlier inhabitants. He also set up a health service and a school in Townsville, Queensland where he lived with his wife and their ten children.
The “Mabo Case” triumphed in the courts in 1992 - overturning terra nullius and returning ownership of the islands to the Indigenous people. Although he died shortly before the verdict, his activism changed the lives of so many.
Today’s Doodle is a tribute to Edward Koiki Mabo’s legacy on what would have been his 80th birthday.
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