Aboriginal land and land rights
The tide of history can never take away our connection to land, because it is spiritual connection and at a higher level. [...] Our law and spirituality is intertwined with the land, the people and creation and this forms our culture and our sovereignty.—Wadjularbinna, Gungalidda Elder (Gulf of Carpentaria) [1]
Native Title
Learn what Native Title is and which historic events shaped the modern Aboriginal people's relationship to their traditional lands.
What does land mean to Aboriginal people?
What does land mean to non-Indigenous people and land owners? They might consider land to be [5]
Land of the ancestors. Aboriginal people are born into the responsibility to care for their land, today
and with future generations.
- a commodity to be bought and sold,
- an asset to make profit from,
- a means to make a living off it,
- simply 'home'.
For Aboriginal people land
- is also their 'home',
- is their mother
- is steeped in their culture
- gives them the responsibility to care for it.
Land sustains Aboriginal lives in every aspect, spiritually, physically, socially and culturally.
The land is my backbone... I only stand straight, happy, proud and not ashamed about my colour because I still have land... I think of land as the history of my nation.—Galarrwuy Yunipingu [5]
Aboriginal law and life originates in and is governed by the land. The connection to land gives Aboriginal people their identity and a sense of belonging.
But Aboriginal people can only care for their land when they care for their culture. Culture is the key to care for the land, caring for the land strengthens their culture and well-being. That is why so many Aboriginal people get sick when they are removed from their traditional land (Stolen Generations). When they participate in both customary and contemporary land and sea management practices Aboriginal people are much healthier. The opposite holds also true: When Aboriginal people are removed from their homeland the landscape suffers too [5].
Today access to traditional lands can be gained when native title is recognised, but gaining this title is a lenghty, costly and complex process.
Non-Indigenous people have problems understanding the close relationship with land. When Aboriginal people try to educate about what the land means to them they often are "hit with this hurtful phrase 'the land doesn't belong to you Aboriginal people, it belongs to all of us." It is one of the "most hurtful comments" that they have to endure. [4]
Northern Territory (NT) Land Rights Act
The NT Land Rights Act was introduced on 16 October 1975 and became law in 1976. Under the act, more than 50% of the Northern Territory has been returned to traditional Aboriginal owners in the following 30 years.
The NT Land Rights Act gives Aboriginal people a strong say over what should happen on their land, through the principle of informed consent. It allows traditional owners to keep their culture strong and to negotiate constructively with governments and developers over mining and infrastructure projects.
The Act was a consequence of the Wave Hill Walk-off where 200 Aboriginal people had walked off a cattle station. Initially fighting for equal wages their protest soon turned to the core issue, land rights.
In 2006 this act was amended significantly to the worse of Aboriginal people. It allows an unspecified "government entity" to control townships for 99 years and sublease blocks to whomever it wants. Aboriginal people are no longer in control, and, to cap it all, the costs for implementing this policy will be covered by the Aboriginal Benefits Account (which was established for the benefit of Indigenous peoples and funded by mining activities on their land). [2]
Scarred trees
Aboriginal scarred tree. Today scarred trees are not easy to find and protected. This one grows in
Parramatta in a public park.
Aboriginal scarred trees have been used for traditional purposes. The wounds they still display today tell of the many uses Aboriginal people found for them:
- resource harvesting, for example for canoes,
- food implements,
- as 'tomb stones' for their dead.
Today the number of scarred trees is dwindling and the remaining ones need to be protected. Scarred trees are now fragile reminders of the resource harvesting techniques practised for thousands of years [3].
[Scarred trees] are our history books, but are also a manual for sustainable use of resources suited to the present day.—Stuart McFarlane, Manager RMIT Ngarara Willim Indigenous Centre [3]
Check out the Keelbundoora Scarred Tree and Heritage Trail, opend in May 2008 at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology's Bundoora campus which sits on Wurundjeri Aboriginal land.
Land: Are you an Aboriginal person? Get involved!
For this project I'd like to involve Aboriginal people as much as possible. It should also become a platform for your voice and your story.
If you think you can contribute to any of these areas on the left-hand side, I am happy to listen to your advice. If necessary I can help you to put it into words, an audio file or an image for this site.
Contact me and we can find a way how your story helps towards true reconciliation.
Out of respect for Aboriginal culture I use Indigenous sources as much as possible.
[1] Koori Mail 390 (6/12/2006) p.26, [2] Antar NSW Newsletter 8/2006,
[3] 'Scarred trees feature of heritage walk', Koori Mail 427 p.39
[4] 'Franklin battle remembered', Koori Mail 430, p.4
[5] 'Caring for culture, caring for country', NIT 10/7/2008 p.16
The author of this site wishes to recognise the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional custodians of the land in which we live and work.