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Defending Territories & Making Peace

The Komet clan on the northwest side of Mer specialised in fishing, voyaging and trading.
They're the "front side people", whose clan territory faces Papua New Guinea.

By contrast , the clan on the eastern side of the island, assisted by its fertile soil, became food-growing experts.

But, despite their specialisations, all Meriam remained "salt water people".

Intermarriage, trade and gift exchanges between the clans were common.

However, they also feuded and fought; they still feud today.

During the Mabo case for example, a boundary marker on the foreshore became the focus of intense feeling, as Mr Marwer Depoma confronted the court party during its inspection tour, "whoop whooping" loudly and disputing Eddie Mabo's claim to the area.
White beliefs were not the only ones
Text
 
gardening, land disputes, land use, Las, Mabo, Benny, Mabo, Edward Koiki, Mabo's Garden, Mer
Big Noting Himself
Topic
1982-1992
exile, land ownership, Mabo, Edward Koiki, Mer, Murray Island
...He's got no claim for this land...
Video
 
Depoma, Marwer, evidence, inheritance, Land Bilong Islanders, land disputes, land ownership, Sebeg, witnesses
Letters of E.K. Mabo to Mr. Marwer Depoma
Text
 
inheritance, land boundaries, land ownership, Mabo, Edward Koiki, Sebeg, witnesses
...ancestors handed down to this generation now...
Text
 
ancestors, evidence, fish traps, land disputes, Las, Sagigi, Victor, witnesses
Meriam Land
Topic
 
inheritance, land ownership, Meriam culture, Meriam history, oral tradition
Adapted To Their Continent
Topic
 
Australia, First Fleet, indigenous people, land use
Cultural Diversity & Common Identity
Topic
 
aborigines, fishing, hunting, land ownership, land use
Charity & Sovereignty
Topic
1840s
aborigines, Australia, land ownership, New South Wales, Queen Victoria, reserves, sovereignty
Colonial Warfare
Topic
1788-1929
Australia, colonial warfare, colonialism, colonists, genocide, land rights, martial law, massacres, Tasmania, war, Warlpiri
The Murray Islanders' Evidence
Topic
1986
evidence, Mabo, Edward Koiki, Murray Island, plaintiffs, witnesses
Eddie Mabo's Evidence & The Hearsay Hurdle
Topic
Feb, 1987
evidence, hearsay, Mabo, Edward Koiki, oral evidence, oral tradition, plaintiffs
Warrior Tradition
Topic
 
aboriginal property ownership, Australia, colonisation, war
Boundaries & Markers
Topic
 
land ownership, Las, Mer, Meriam culture, Murray Island
Defending Territories & Making Peace
Topic
 
Depoma, Marwer, land boundaries, land disputes, land ownership, Las, Mabo Case, Mer, Meriam culture, Papua New Guinea
Gift Exchange
Topic
 
Meriam culture, Papua New Guinea, seafarers, Torres Strait Islanders
Land Bilong Islanders - Mabo
Topic
 
Great Northern expedition, land ownership, Mabo Case, Mabo, Edward Koiki, Malo's laws, Mer, Meriam culture, Moynihan, Justice Martin, Murray Island, sea rights
Land Disputes
Topic
 
clans, Depoma, Marwer, inheritance, land disputes, land ownership, Mabo, Edward Koiki, Murray Island Native Court
Resistance
Topic
 
activism, land rights, land rights, resistance, strike, unionism
Striking Back
Topic
1880-1936
Mer, Murray Island, pearling industry, strike, Torres Strait Islanders
The Mabo Case
Topic
1982-1992
High Court of Australia, International law, Mabo Case, Mabo, Edward Koiki, terra nullius