... placed parental and tribal responsibility over children throughout their entire childhood. Aboriginal customary laws were considered primitive by the British. When the British arrived in Australia, they declared the land Terra Nullius. The British didn't recognize the Aboriginal ownership of the land, nor did they recognize the Aboriginal laws and living structures as civilized. This resulted in the British declaring sovereignty over ... shot. Traditional Aboriginal laws and customs were not re-acknowledged until 1971 with the Miliripum vs. Nabalco Pty Ltd Case (the Gove Land Rights cas...

• Word Count: 1027
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Introduction The British colonists declared that before their arrival to Australia, the entire continent was terra nullius (uninhabited by humans). British colonists used this as justification for taking whatever they wanted. As a large amount of white settlers moved into Australia they began to occupy the fertile land. ... development of Australian democracy, represented a backward step for Aboriginal Australians. The exclusion of indigenous Australians from the governance of themselves and the nation did not end with the Constitution and terra nullius. It was reinforced by the national Par...

• Word Count: 3196
• Approx Pages: 13
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... and the land has alienated them from their spiritual need of their life, the Dreaming. In 1788 Captain Arthur Phillip sailed into the shores of Australia. He claimed the land terra nullius, an empty or uncivilised land. The Europeans believed that they had rights to the land, as the aborigines did not use the land for farming or housing. During white settlement ... system. The most common case and the case that rewrote the Australian common law was Mabo. The Meriam people led by Eddie Mabo were on a crusade to overturn the doctrine Terra Nullius. The Mabo case went to the High Court and...

• Word Count: 1002
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... (Gorring, 2014). It is now known that Britain did not abide by this international law and therefore it's claim of sovereignty was based on legal fiction and the myth of terra nullius. This is a pertinent point in the historical context of colonisation as it exemplifies the fact that whilst Britain claimed sovereignty over Australia, it's claim was based on legal fiction and ... ...

• Word Count: 2489
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... living in Australia is approximately 1.5%, or approximately 427,000 (Van Kreiken, Smith, Habibis, McDonald, Harlambos & Holborn, 2000:532). When Cook landed in Botany Bay, he declared the land to be terra nullius, which was thought by many to mean blank space, or uninhabited, but in fact, it means unworked or unused agriculturally. When Europeans settled Australia, they saw the Indigenous residents to ... ...

• Word Count: 1082
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate