‘A Mere Impertinence…’: An Early History of Aboriginal Land Rights from a Lawyer’s Perspective

The recognition of Land Rights for Australia’s Indigenous peoples, described in this first-hand account, signalled major changes in Australian Politics and Law. In November 1972 Gough Whitlam promised land rights to Aborigines in the Northern Territory. The legislation he introduced was substantially enacted by the Fraser Government in 1976. For 24 years between 1979 and 2002 Ross Howie SC acted for Aboriginal claimants in twenty-two traditional land claims and seven early native title cases. In requiring proof of spiritual affiliation, responsibility and traditional attachment to land the cases revealed significant accounts of cultural understanding and practice and extraordinary personal histories. It was a mind-enlarging experience for a lawyer and a unique period in Australian legal history.