On 3 June 1992, six months after Eddie ‘Koiki’ Mabo’s tragic death, the High Court upheld his claim that Murray Islanders held native title to land in the Torres Strait. The legal fiction that Australia was empty when first occupied by white people was laid to rest.

This revealing film tells the private and public stories of a man so passionate about family and home that he challenged an entire nation and its legal system. Though his greatest victory was won only after death, it has forever ensured his place in Australian history.

A Film Australia National Interest Program. Produced with the assistance of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. © National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.