What was the 1963 bark petition?
What was the 1963 bark petition?
The Yirrkala bark petitions, sent by the Yolngu people, an Aboriginal Australian people of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, to the Australian Parliament in 1963, were the first traditional documents prepared by Indigenous Australians that were recognised by the Australian Parliament, and the first documentary …
Where is the Yirrkala bark petition?
Canberra
| Long Title: | Petitions of the Aboriginal people of Yirrkala 14 August and 28 August 1963 |
|---|---|
| Features: | The painted designs on bark explain Yolngu title to land |
| Location & Copyright: | Parliament House. For permissions contact the Table Office, Department of the House of Representatives, Parliament House, Canberra. |
| Reference: | None |
Which bauxite miner did the Yolngu take to court in the Gove land rights case?
Nabalco Mining Company
After four years of trying to stop bauxite mining on the Gove Peninsula, the Yolngu people took the Federal Government, and the Nabalco Mining Company, to the Northern Territory Supreme Court. This was the first time aboriginal people had taken such court action.
Why was the Yirrkala bark petition significant?
The Yirrkala bark petitions were the first example of a native title litigation in Australia. They paved the way for the Aboriginal Land Rights Commission and the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976.
What did Milirrpum v Nabalco determine?
He held that native title was not part of the law of Australia, and even had it existed, any native title rights had been extinguished. A doctrine of common law native title had no place in a settled colony except under express statutory provisions (i.e. the recognition doctrine).
What does the Aboriginal Land rights Act 1976 provide?
The main purpose of the Act is “to reinstate ownership of traditional Aboriginal land in the Northern Territory to Aboriginal people” (Austrade). It provides for the grant of inalienable freehold title for Aboriginal land, meaning that the land cannot be bought or otherwise acquired, including by any NT law.
What did the tent embassy achieve?
Mr Gooda said the original Aboriginal Tent Embassy brought together Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from all over Australia and helped to sow the seeds of more recent campaigns to improve access to justice, education and equal rights for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
When did the Yirrkala Bark Petition take place?
Who created the petitions, and why? 1963 Yirrkala bark petition. It is now on public display in Parliament House, Canberra. On 13 March 1963 the Australian government took more than 300 square kilometres of land from the Yolngu people in Arnhem Land so mining company Gominco could extract bauxite.
Why was Yirrkala bark taken from the Yolngu?
On 13 March 1963 the Australian government took more than 300 square kilometres of land from the Yolngu people in Arnhem Land so mining company Gominco could extract bauxite. As so often, work started without talking to the people about their land. 1963 Yirrkala bark petition. It is now on public display in Parliament House, Canberra.
How did the people of Yirrkala respond to Hasluck?
When they learned of Hasluck’s rejection, the people of Yirrkala decided to send a second bark petition, this time accompanied by the thumbprints of clan elders, so there could be no doubt that they approved of the petition. The English text of both petitions is identical.
Where did the Bark Petition of 1963 take place?
As Wali acknowledges with a wry chuckle, “the wheel has turned”: where the Bark Petition of 1963 protested against mining on Aboriginal land, today the refinery and mine are a crucial part of Aboriginal economic livelihood in North East Arnhem Land. “We have fought hard to get what we are getting now,” he smiles.