The Murray Islanders' Evidence
The hearing before Justice Moynihan in the Queensland Supreme Court began in Brisbane on the thirteenth of October 1986.
Bryan Keon Cohen tendered voluminous documentary evidence, and then senior counsel, Ron Castan QC, outlined the plaintiffs' case.
Because of the number and complexity of the issues involved, his submission took almost five days to complete.
Meanwhile, the Murray Islanders' witnesses were ready to explain Meriam custom and the sacred laws which underpin both their traditional rights and obligations to land and sea.
These laws relate to occupation and use, to trespass and inheritance; and are fundamental to their traditional system of ownership.
They hoped this evidence would establish the Murray Islander claim to those areas of land, sea and reef specified in the court documents.
Mer, Waier & Dauar
Topic
Dauar, Dauar, HMS Pandora, Mer, Meriam culture, Meriam history, Meriam history, Murray Island, Waier
Property & Inheritance
Topic
Cambridge Anthropological Expedition, inheritance, land ownership, Meriam culture, property
Land Boundaries
Topic
boundary markers, clans, inheritance, land ownership, land use, oral tradition
Meriam Land Disputes
Topic
Dauar, Depoma, Marwer, land boundaries, land ownership, Mabo, Edward Koiki, Malo's laws, Malo's laws, Mer, Meriam culture, Meriam history, Murray Island Native Court, sea rights, trespass, Waier
Indigenous People & Their Land
Topic
custom, indigenous people, land ownership, land rights, land use, sacred
Belonging To Country
Topic
aborigines, Australia, dreamtime, indigenous Australians, land ownership, land rights, sacred
A Sacred Landscape
Topic
aboriginal property ownership, anthropology, Australia, clans, dispossession, kinship, land ownership, religion, sacred
...Twenty-seven witnesses...
Text
1990
evidence, Meriam Mer, plaintiffs, Sharp, Dr. Nonie, witnesses
...Justice Moynihan's Task...
Text
1989-1990
Mabo Case, Mabo, Edward Koiki, Moynihan, Justice Martin
...Under Pressure...
Text
Castan, Ron, claim, Mabo, Edward Koiki, Passi, Reverend Dave, plaintiffs, plaintiffs, Rice, James
The Laws Of Malo
Topic
indigenous law, Malo's laws, Malo-Bomai, Meriam culture, Meriam history, Murray Island, religion, sacred, sacred
Malo's Law
Topic
Malo's laws, Malo-Bomai, Meriam culture, Meriam history, Murray Island, religion, sacred
Sea Claims
Topic
Federal Government, Australia, fish traps, fishing, Great Barrier Reef, Meriam culture, sacred, sea rights
The Great Northern Expedition
Topic
1989
Mabo, Edward Koiki, Moynihan, Justice Martin, Murray Island, Supreme Court of Queensland
A Mountain Of Evidence
Topic
1990
Brisbane, Mabo Case, Meriam culture, Moynihan, Justice Martin, Moynihan's findings
Defending Territories & Making Peace
Topic
Depoma, Marwer, land boundaries, land disputes, land ownership, Las, Mabo Case, Mer, Meriam culture, Papua New Guinea
Meriam Mir
Topic
Black Community School, education, language, Mabo, Edward Koiki, Meriam culture, Meriam Mer, Miles, Robert 'Bob'
Native Title & Indigenous Law
Topic
aboriginal law, Malo's laws, native title, Native Title Act (1993), sacred
The Plaintiffs
Topic
1982
claim, High Court of Australia, Mabo Case, Murray Islanders, plaintiffs, Supreme Court of Queensland
Property And Inheritance
Text
Cambridge Anthropological Expedition, inheritance, land ownership, Meriam culture, property
