The Mabo Case Manuscripts, Australia
Eddie Mabo was an indigenous activist whose efforts resulted in the Australian High Court, in June 1992, overturning the doctrine of ‘terra nullius’ or ‘unowned land’.
The judgment unleashed profound change in Australia’s legal and legislative landscape, influencing the status and land rights of its indigenous peoples and race relations generally.
Sadly, Edward Mabo never knew the result of his legal case as he died in January 1992, five months before the High Court made its decision.
The Mabo Case Manuscripts were inscribed on the International Memory of the World Register in 2001.
Want to learn more?
See the National Library Australia and the UNESCO Memory of the World websites for more information.
A detailed description of the The Mabo Case Manuscripts can be found in pages 26-27 of the publication Memory of the World: Documentary Heritage in Asia and the Pacific.