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Who owns a cultural object? Who has the right to determine cultural values? And how can public institutions exercise cultural responsibility? It's a timely set of questions as we consider the implications of the National Gallery of Australia's return of ancient Indian sculptures, the British Museum's refusal to return Indigenous objects, or Lionel Shriver's rejection of minority cultural identities. Each of these unleashes complex, painful consequences that can undermine cultural value or cultural safety.
New Zealand, our partner in the Anzac legend, has no problem commemorating the Maori Wars of 1845–1872. Yet the Australian War Memorial refuses to honour Aboriginal warriors who fought and died defending their lands and their people against white invader settlers in the Frontier Wars of 1788–1928. This is a moral issue, and has the effect of excluding a whole people from commemoration based on a trifle.
The Mabo decision of 3 June 1992 changed the course of Australian history and set the blueprint for native title determinations. Twenty-one years on, the Noongar people of Australia's south west are on the threshold of achieving the most momentous and comprehensive outcome to date of the native title process.
My great-grandfather John Eckersley Newbury was a convict and a squatter who became wealthy through a generous land policy and because his wife's family helped set him up on the land. During this period, the Kamilaroi of northern NSW fought a guerilla war of resistance against the British.
Sophie, a Malagay slave in Mauritius, torched a barn housing a collection of leather straps — the flames soaring like the sounds of the black horses inside — and was packed off in a ship-sized crate to New South Wales.
The anniversary of the Mabo decision is significant enough to be made a public holiday. If it replaced the Queen's Birthday, this would reflect our maturation as a nation, as we grow away from Britain, and grow up by owning the past and our mistreatment of Indigenous Australians.
In 1790, resistance hero Pemulwuy killed Governor Phillip's convict gamekeeper for his abuse of Aboriginal women. The subsequent Frontier Wars raged for 140 years. Anzac celebrations tend to neglect the many Indigenous Australians who died in defence of their land.
Those of us not of Aboriginal ancestry can be tempted to see our origins in foreign lands. Although we may not share the identity of First Australians, we owe the benefits of our lives to the land that was, and continues to be, theirs.