Rachel Perkins - DirectorAlthough born and raised in Canberra - daughter of the Aboriginal activist Charles Perkins and his wife Eileen, Rachel Perkins’ origins are with the Arrernte people of Central Australia. In 1988 she returned there and became a trainee with the Central Australian Media Association TV station Imparja. it was here that she learnt the full range of film-making techniques, finally deciding that directing was her thing. Rachel has also worked at SBS and now works for Blackfella Films in Sydney. She has covered the full range of short film, documentary and feature film - including the ‘opera’ One Night the Moonwith Paul Kelly. She made her first film Radiance in 1993 with Warwick Thornton as cinematographer, following with One Night the Moon, the acclaimed television series, The First Australians and now, Bran Nue Dae. She also made the documentary Blood Brothers: Freedom Ride, about the life of her father Charles Perkins. In her spare time, she serves on many cultural institution boards.
http://www.croydonfilms.org.au/Croydon_Films/Rachel_Perkins.html |
History |
Murray Island is not a place many white Australians would have been familiar with in 1953. The inhabitants of this island speak in Meriam Mir, a language not spoken on mainland Australia. Legends are a way of passing on cultural stories on Murray Island. The culture of the island is rich in local legend. One such legend is the story of Malo, the Octopus God, who created eight clans in his name.
Eddie Koiki Mabo belonged to the Piadaram Clan and the songs and dances of the Piadaram people are an integral part of his family’s heritage and culture. Singing is a means by which traditional values and island spirituality and rituals are passed from one generation to the next. Eddie Koiki Mabo believed the laws that governed Aboriginal people and Torres Straight Islanders were wrong. Eddie spent his adult life trying to change them. In many respects the people of Murray Island live an idyllic existence. They live in a small but tight community and are governed by Malo tribal laws that have been in existence for many generations. The laws of Malo must be adhered to as these laws are what bind the community and keep the culture alive. Drinking alcohol and sex before marriage is prohibited. As a young man, Eddie is accused of indulging in both alcohol and sexual misdemeanours and, as a result, has to face the tribal council. When the tribal elders find Eddie guilty he faces sentencing by the protector, Paddy Killoran. Whilst it is clear Killoran believes the crimes are exaggerated, Eddie is found guilty and must pay the price. He is bound by two laws, the tribal Malo Law and the Queensland Government’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act. This is where the crossover of traditional culture and Australian law and politics comes into play and is the crux of this film’s greater thematic discussion. Regardless of whether Eddie is innocent or not, he is ultimately punished by a law enshrined to ‘protect the people from themselves’ – a comment made by Killoran in one of the early scenes in the film. As protector on Murray Island Killoran is the representative of the Queensland Government. The film makes it clear that this indictment demeans the Murray Island community as it makes a clear distinction between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. There is also an undercurrent of Christianity running through the film’s early sequences. It is a reminder of the time when Christian missionaries were hoping to convert Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders to the Christian faith. We soon discover Eddie is headstrong, with a strong sense of cultural identity passed on to him from his adoptive father, Benny Mabo. Eddie won’t accept Killoran’s offer to work on the garbage truck on the island and so he is exiled to mainland Australia for a period of twelve months. When Benny Mabo adopted Eddie after Eddie’s mother died prematurely, he treated Eddie as a son and brought him up believing he would one day own the land and the seas that had been passed down for generations. Leaving Murray Island was hard, but getting back would prove harder. Eddie moved to Townsville and began working on the railways. He met his wife, Bonita Nehow, and together they became a force to reckon with. "My wife is the most important person in my life, has stuck by me over many hardships and hurdles in life but somehow we made it, perhaps better than others. To me my wife has been the most adorable person, a friend closest in my life, a most wonderful lover, and we loved every minute of our lives together." Eddie Koiki Mabo Eddie Koiki Mabo was shocked to discover the Murray Island land, passed down to him over sixteen generations, was not legally his. So began the immense battle to get Australian law to recognise Indigenous land ownership. The ten‐year struggle came at great personal cost to both Eddie and his family. This is a story of a man on a journey. A journey that would take him to the High Court of Australia and see him enshrined in Australian history. www.abc.net.au/tv/mabo |
Production |
Marking the twentieth anniversary of the historic High Court decision, MABO is the story of one of Australia's national heroes: Eddie 'Koiki' Mabo - the Torres Strait Islander who, despite leaving school at 15, spearheaded the High Court challenge that once and for all overthrew the fiction of terra nulls.
MABO is also the tender love story of Eddie and Bonita - the woman he met as a teenager, and loved over three decades and the raising of ten children. It tells of the deep love and partnership that fuelled their unflagging fight to change the face of Australia forever. Written by Sue Smith (Bastard Boys, RAN, Brides of Christ), and directed by Rachel Perkins (Bran Nue Dae, First Australians, One Night The Moon), the film traces Eddie's life, through his early exile from his beloved Murray Island, to his years of working on the trochus trawlers and the outback railways as a blackfella in a whitefella world - to his eventual decision to embrace activism. In research, writer Sue Smith spent extended periods of time with Eddie's family, and specifically Bonita - hearing the many stories of what went on at home and behind the scenes of Eddie's epic fight. With her recollections and many tales, Bonita's contribution, as well as the support of the entire Mabo family, has made the telling of this powerful story not only very true, but extraordinarily real. Both Eddie's eldest daughter Gail Mabo and Charles Passi, the son of Eddie's friend and co-complainant Dave Passi, came on board as cultural consultants - assisting the production with knowledge and guidance as well as sourcing many of the extras, singers, dancers and actual personal items to dress the Mabo home. The project attracted the who's who of the Australian acting fraternity - all wanting to participate in what many believe is one of Australia's greatest stories. As a result MABO features an outstanding ensemble cast including Jimi Bani (The Straits, RAN) as Eddie 'Koiki' Mabo, Deborah Mailman (Offspring, Rush, The Secret Life of Us) as his wife Bonita, alongside Colin Friels (The Eye of the Storm, Bastard Boys), Miranda Otto (The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King, Cashmere Mafia, South Solitary), Rob Carlton (Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo, Underbelly: The Golden Mile, Chandon Pictures), Ewen Leslie (Love My Way, Kokoda) Leon Ford (The Pacific, Beneath Hill 60), and Tom Budge (Bran Nue Dae, The Pacific, East of Everything). Many of the locations used in the film were the actual places where the action occurred - with scenes shot at the Black Community School Eddie and Bonita established in Townsville; in the gardens of James Cook University where Eddie worked as a gardener; in the actual lecture theatre where he gave his first lecture; and most notably in the exact Brisbane courtroom where the original legal battle took place. To ensure authenticity, production designer Felicity Abbott drew upon the family's recollections for the design of the Mabo family home in Hibiscus Street, with original Eddie Mabo paintings adorning the walls, and actual family photos and paraphernalia dressing the set. |
Activity: Background Notes
Use the following resource and other secondary sources (http://www.racismnoway.com.au/teaching-resources/factsheets/index.html) to develop a Context report. You may present this as an interactive mind map, digital scrapbook or poster.
- Who are Australia’s indigenous people?
- Construct a timeline of key events in Indigenous Australian history
- What is native title?
- Who has native title?
- Where does native title exist?
- What is Terra Nullius?
- How is native title extinguished?
- What are the implications of the Mabo decision?
- What is the history of Mer Island?
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Learn More: Video
Follow the link below to videos about Mabo the man and the creation of the film.