Assessment Item 1 requires students to prepare and submit a research essay on the following topic. Mabo (No.2) is a significant case in Australia that recognized the land rights of the Meriam People, traditional owners of the Murray Islands in the Torres Strait. This case challenged the existing Australian legal system from two perspectives: 1. On the assumption that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples had no concept of land ownership before the arrival of British colonisers in 1788 (terra nullius). 2. That sovereignty delivered complete ownership of all land in the new Colony to the Crown, abolishing any existing rights that may have existed previously. Discuss the two challenges above specifically in relation to the Doctrine of Tenure and the nature of Native Title as an interest in land.
