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Land Bilong Islanders (1989)

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clip Murray Island law

This clip chosen to be G

Clip description

The clip begins with a black-and-white photograph of the Murray Island Courthouse taken in November 1898. The plaintiffs’ lawyers discuss the importance of some of the cases heard by the Murray Island court. The clip includes a traditional dance by a group of Murray Island women and the Queensland Supreme Court ending its proceedings on Murray Island.

Curator’s notes

The Murray Island Court, guided by the customary laws of the local Indigenous peoples, often heard cases regarding land boundaries and family inheritances. The plaintiffs’ lawyers review records from past cases and discuss the rules governing traditional land ownership as evidence that customary law survived beyond Queensland’s annexation of Murray Island.

The traditional dance by a group of women, towards the end of the clip, emphasises the Murray Island peoples’ maintenance of their cultural practices.

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australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.

All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions.

When you access australianscreen you agree that:

  • You may retrieve materials for information only.
  • You may download materials for your personal use or for non-commercial educational purposes, but you must not publish them elsewhere or redistribute clips in any way.
  • You may embed the clip for non-commercial educational purposes including for use on a school intranet site or a school resource catalogue.
  • The National Film and Sound Archive’s permission must be sought to amend any information in the materials, unless otherwise stated in notices throughout the Site.

All other rights reserved.

ANY UNAUTHORISED USE OF MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY RESULT IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY.

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