-
1974
Torres Strait Islander Eddie Koiki Mabo, who is at the time working as a gardener at James Cook University in Townsville, finds out he does not own the land back on Murray Island where he grew up -
1981
A land rights conference is held at James Cook University where Mr Mabo makes a speech outlining the land ownership and inheritance system on Murray Island. A lawyer at the conference suggests there should be a test case on claiming land rights through the court system. -
1982
Mr Mabo, Sam Passi, David Pass, Celuia Mapo Salee and James Rice make a legal claim for ownership of their lands on Murray Island. -
1985
The Queensland Government passes the Queensland Coast Islands Declaratory Act in an attempt to negate any claims Torres Strait Islanders have to the land. -
1988
The High Court finds the Queensland Coast Islands Declaratory Act contravenes section 10 of the Federal Racial Discrimination Act 1975, and is therefore invalid. Under the Constitution, federal acts of parliament take precedence over state acts of parliament. -
1992
Then prime minister Paul Keating makes an address to a 2,000-strong crowd in Redfern, where he says the blame for the plight of Indigenous Australia lies with non-Aboriginal Australians. The speech, known afterward as the Redfern Address, is hailed as one of the most important speeches by an Australian prime minister. -
1993
The Keating government wins the March election and begins negotiations with Aboriginal leaders, the states and mining and pastoral interests on how to legislate the Mabo ruling. A series of land claims around the country, raise tensions over the issue, with the Federal Government under fire from the states, who are calling for the Mabo ruling to be overturned. -
1993
The Native Title Bill is passed by the Senate. -
1994
The Native Title Act 1993 comes into effect and the National Native Title Tribunal is established. -
1996
The High Court decision on a case brought by the Wik Peoples on Cape York Peninsula finds that statutory leases, such as pastoral leases do not completely extinguish native title rights. However the court ruled that when pastoral leases and native title conflict, pastoral leases take precedence. -
1998
In response to the Wik decision, then prime minister John Howard implements a "10 point plan" through the Native Title Amendment Bill. The bill strengthened the rights of pastoral lease holders and made it harder to claim native title.