23 Facts About Eddie Mabo

Edward Koiki Mabo was an Indigenous Australian man from the Torres Strait Islands known for his role in campaigning for Indigenous land rights in Australia, in particular the landmark decision of the High Court of Australia that recognised that indigenous rights to land had continued after the British Crown acquired sovereignty and that the international law doctrine of terra nullius was not applicable to Australian domestic law.

Eddie Mabo was born Edward Koiki Sambo on 29 June 1936 in the village of Las on the island of Mer in the Torres Strait.

Eddie Mabo's parents were Robert Zesou Sambo and Poipe Mabo, but Eddie was adopted by his uncle Benny Mabo when his mother died shortly after he was born.

When young, Eddie Mabo was influenced by his teacher Robert 'Bob' Victor Miles, a relieving teacher with the Schools for Islanders.

Eddie Mabo was one of these students and learnt more than just language from Miles, he gained an understanding of 'mainland' culture.

Eddie Mabo, who lived with Bob for a time while his mother was ill, later reflected on the importance of his education.

Eddie Mabo enjoyed activities such as Aboriginal painting, dancing and singing.

Eddie Mabo married Bonita Neehow, an Australian South Sea Islander, in 1959.

Bonita Eddie Mabo died in Townsville on 26 November 2018, aged 75, just days after receiving an honorary doctorate of letters from James Cook University for her contributions to Indigenous rights and human rights.

Eddie Mabo has worked with schools in New South Wales as a cultural advisor, and has served as the family's designated spokesperson.

Eddie Mabo's great-nephew is NBA athlete Patty Mills, the third Indigenous Australian to represent the nation in Olympic basketball.

Eddie Mabo worked on pearling boats, as a cane cutter, and as a railway fettler, becoming a gardener at James Cook University in Townsville, Queensland at age 31.

The time Eddie Mabo spent on the campus had a massive impact on his life.

Later, when Eddie Mabo was a research assistant on an oral history project in the Torres Strait, Reynolds records:.

Eddie Mabo got as far as Thursday Island and no further.

Eddie Mabo was refused permission to land on any of the other islands in the Straits.

Eddie Mabo was not only landless in the eyes of white man's law, he was an exile as well.

In 1981 a land rights conference was held at James Cook University and Eddie Mabo gave a speech in which he explained the land inheritance system on Murray Island.

On 21 January 1992, Eddie Mabo died of cancer at the age of 55.

Three years after Eddie Mabo died, that being the traditional mourning period for the people of Murray Island, a memorial service was held.

The next day, Eddie Mabo's gravesite was attacked by vandals who spray-painted swastikas and racial slurs on his tombstone as well as removing a bronze bas-relief portrait of him.

Eddie Mabo's family decided to have his body reburied on Murray Island.

In 1992, Eddie Mabo was posthumously awarded the Australian Human Rights Medal in the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Awards, together with the Reverend Dave Passi, Sam Passi, James Rice, Celuia Mapo Salee and Barbara Hocking.