Law and native title

I was born in what is often referred to in the south as the Far North of Queensland. My ancestors came from the Western Torres Strait and I am of mixed Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal descent. As with the many people from the Torres Strait Islands born and living on the mainland, I am often referred to as a Mainlander. My interest in law and the English language was sparked by reading the Alex Haley biography of Malcolm X, who said that people of colour needed to understand the colonial legal system and the language of the colonial laws to be able to overcome the burdens of history. I received much of my formal schooling from what is popularly known as the school of the air, although once I learned to read I found whatever I could to read. I also found an old portable radio in my youth and greatly benefitted from the marvellous, informative, often insightful and thoughtful programs on ABC Radio. I was fortunate to do reasonably well in my studies and went on to complete secondary and further studies. I studied science and then law and worked in that fi eld both in Australia and overseas for several years. My wife and I had three children who were born close together when we were both still very young. I practised in many areas of law in the private, community and government sectors. I returned to academia after my children had grown up and completed a PhD in the area of comparative law, examining the aspects of constitutions in the development of laws, particularly criminal laws. Legal history has always fascinated me and I have followed this interest to trace notions such as the discovery of 'new' lands by the colonial powers of the 18th century. I was particularly interested in how these notions led to the subjugation and decimation of many groups of people who possessed inferior weapons of war and who were not militaristic in their ordinary lives.