Crown Land

The Australian colonies were acquired by Britain on the grounds they were terra nullius; under that part of International Law relating to sovereignty and the authority to govern new territories. This acquisition was then recognised by other European powers.

As a 'settled colony', New South Wales adopted the laws of England right from the outset. Among those laws was the doctrine of tenures, under which land title was recognised only if it could be based on a grant from the Crown.

So who then, owned the land? Aboriginal people had one answer; but Australian courts had another. It was the Crown.

In several court decisions during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, judges declared that when Britain acquired sovereignty over Australia, the Crown also acquired ownership of the land. None of these cases involved Aboriginal people, or raised the issue of the possible survival of native title.

• Terra Nullius Defined
• International Law
• Colonisation
• Human Rights
• Takeovers
• Bases For Takeovers
• Justifications
• Barbarism
• Hierarchies Of Land Use
• Recent Changes To International Law
• Territorial Integrity
• The Common Law Of England
• Common Law Rules For New English Territories
• Settled & Conquered Colonies
• The Status Of The Australian Colonies
• Reception Of English Law
• Sovereignty & Ownership Distinguished
• Other Lands Settled By The British
• Terra Nullius & Australia
• Crown Land
• Gove Case
• The Gove Decision Questioned
• The Mabo Case
• The Mabo Decision
• Britain's Acquisition Of Sovereignty
• Pre-Existing Land Rights
• The Doctrine Of Tenures Reconsidered
• Extinguishment Of Native Title
• Sovereignty & Indigenous Self-Government