This is an NFSA Digital Learning resource. See all Digital Learning websites.
Education & Early Work
More Information

When Koiki Mabo was growing up, the Torres Strait Islands were administered by Queensland's Chief Protector of Aborigines and the Department of Native Affairs.

The Department provided every Island child with only a limited amount of schooling, for it was assumed that no child had the ability to progress beyond primary school.

A formative influence on young Koiki was Robert Victor Miles, who came to Murray Island as a government teacher.

Miles convinced Mabo that for his future's sake, he must learn English.
...Growing up on Murray...
Image and Text
1936-52
childhood, education, language, Mabo, Edward Koiki, Mer, Meriam Mer, Miles, Robert 'Bob'
Eddie as a Teenager, 1950s
Image
1950s
education, Mabo, Edward Koiki, Torres Strait, Torres Strait Islanders
Black Community School
Topic
1973-1985
Black Community School, cultural preservation, Mabo, Bonita, Mabo, Edward Koiki, Townsville, Townsville
The Best Of Two Cultures
Topic
1973-1985
Black Community School, cultural preservation, Mabo, Edward Koiki, Meriam culture, multiculturalism
Gardener At James Cook University
Topic
1967-1975
activism, Cambridge Anthropological Expedition, employment, James Cook University, Mabo, Edward Koiki, Townsville
The Roar of the Sea
Image and Text
 
canoes, childhood, Las, Mabo, Edward Koiki, sea
...early work...
Image and Text
1940-1950
employment, Mabo, Edward Koiki, Mabo, Maiga, Miles, Robert 'Bob', Yorke Island
...music and art...
Text
1940s
education, language, Meriam Mer, Miles, Robert 'Bob'
Murray Island School
Topic
1890s
annexation, education, Mabo, Edward Koiki, Miles, Robert 'Bob', Queensland, school
Red
Topic
1970s
activism, Communist Party of Australia, Mabo, Edward Koiki, unionism
Manifestos
Topic
 
activism, education, Mabo, Edward Koiki
Cambridge Anthropological Expedition
Topic
1898
anthropology, Cambridge Anthropological Expedition, Haddon, A.C., Mer, Murray Island, Torres Strait