Queen Victoria: Crown owns nothing, Aborigines are sovereign

Sydney, 18 October 11 - - The Crown doesn’t legally own anything in Australia because Queen Victoria and the House of Lords said so in an 1875 Act. Nor were the Australian colonies of the time “to derogate from the rights of the tribes or people inhabiting such islands or places, or of chiefs or rulers thereof”.

The startling findings are cited in a media release by Michael Anderson, Aboriginal activist and last surviving member of the four young Black Power men who started the Tent Embassy in Canberra in 1972.

A lawyer by training, Mr Anderson and others are gathering evidence that Australian governments have no sovereignty over this country and that Aborigines do and will assert it. Jurisdiction of Australian courts in cases involving Aborigines is already being challenged.

The 1875 legislation is the Pacific Islanders Act, which states in Article 7:

“Saving the Rights of tribes – Nothing herein or in any such Order on Council contained shall extend or be construed to extend to invest Her majesty with any claim or title whatsoever to dominion or sovereignty over any such islands or places as aforesaid, or to derogate from the rights of the tribes or people inhabiting such islands or places, or of chiefs or rulers thereof, to such sovereignty or dominion, and at copy of every such Order in Council shall be laid before each House of Parliament within thirty days after the issue thereof, unless Parliament shall not then be in session, in which case a copy shall be laid before each House of Parliament within thirty days after the commencement of the next ensuing session.”

The Act applied to all Aboriginal peoples of the Pacific, including Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia (which then included the Northern Territory) and Western Australia.

“We now call upon Queen Elizabeth II to show true leadership in her capacity as ‘Queen of Australia’ to bring an end to the colonial governance of Aboriginal Peoples,” Mr Anderson writes.

Elders told the story

He explains that Elders of the previous Aboriginal political movement “always informed us young ones that Queen Victoria had granted ownership to land and recognised our Law/Lore men and Law/Lore women as our leaders”.

This had been very difficult to unravel, because the Elders could not put their finger on how Queen Victoria had recognised and granted land ownership to Aboriginal Peoples.

“The error that we made was looking for individual land titles and land grants through individual family groups. It has taken us all this time to locate what the Old Ones were referring to.”

“The Queen Victoria land grants, referred to by our Elders, were much more definitive and broader than we could have ever anticipated.

“In this Act the British House of Lords, with the royal assent of Queen Victoria, officially recognised the sovereignty of Aboriginal Nations and Peoples. In doing this, the British parliament included in the legislation the recognition of the authority of our chiefs (Law/Lore men and Law/Lore women) by legislating that their powers and authorities could not be diminished in any way whatsoever.

“In the final part of the 1875 Pacific Islanders Protection legislation, it was a requirement of the parliaments of each of the colonies identified that these Orders in Council were to be tabled in each House of Parliament.”

The colonial governments ignored the order, Mr Anderson writes.

“Aboriginal Sovereignty is no longer a dream. Sovereignty is not only a fact but a matter of law as written in the Pacific Islanders Act of 1875.”

Mr Anderson’s media release in full:

Queen Elizabeth II has carriage of all responsibility for all past decisions made by all former members of the crown.

We request she now participate in the liberation of Aboriginal Nations and Peoples in Australia.

Elders of the previous Aboriginal political movement have always informed us young ones that Queen Victoria had granted ownership to land and recognised our Law/Lore men and Law/Lore women as our leaders.

This has been very difficult to unravel, because the Old Ones could not put their finger on how Queen Victoria had recognised and granted land ownership to Aboriginal people/Peoples.

Looked in the wrong places

The error that we made was looking for individual land titles and land grants through individual family groups. It has now taken us all this time to locate what the Old Ones were referring to.

The Queen Victoria land grants, referred to by our Elders, were much more definitive and broader than we could have ever anticipated.

On 16 March 1875 the British House of Lords confirmed and enhanced the 1872 Pacific Islanders Protection Act by creating Section 7, relating to all the Aboriginal Peoples of the Pacific, including Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. (We must remember the Northern Territory was part of South Australia at this time.)

In this Act the British House of Lords, with the Royal Assent of Queen Victoria, officially recognised the sovereignty of Aboriginal nations and Peoples. In doing this, the British parliament included in the legislation the recognition of the authority of our chiefs (Law/Lore men and Law/Lore women) by legislating that their powers and authorities could not be diminished in any way whatsoever.

In the final part of the 1875 Pacific Islanders Protection legislation, it was a requirement of the parliaments of each of the colonies identified that these Orders in Council were to be tabled in each House of Parliament.

We now know that this was never adhered to by the colonial parliaments in Australia.

We now query Mabo No.2

We now query the integrity of the Australian High Court decision in Mabo (No.2), because the High Court failed to expand on the true recognition of Aboriginal sovereignty.

This confirms that even within the legal system our Peoples cannot expect true justice as the courts are protecting their system at all costs, in order to maintain the status quo.

We now call upon our Peoples to unite in our move for absolute liberation from the tyranny of the continuing colonial rule of the Crown.

The time has come in our history to unravel the white man’s confusion, for he has never known how to deal with, or what to do with, Aboriginal Peoples since he invaded.

Uncle Toms and Aunty Marys

We can now also understand why the government has always been so enthusiastic in locating the ignorant Uncle Toms and Aunty Marys, whose only interest was self-gratification and delusions of grandeur at becoming the whiteman’s pet. Their time has ended and there is no way out for the government.

Aboriginal sovereignty is no longer a dream. Sovereignty is not only a fact but a matter of law as written in the Pacific Islanders Act of 1875:

7. Saving the Rights of tribes – Nothing herein or in any such Order on Council contained shall extend or be construed to extend to invest Her majesty with any claim or title whatsoever to dominion or sovereignty over any such islands or places as aforesaid, or to derogate from the rights of the tribes or people inhabiting such islands or places, or of chiefs or rulers thereof, to such sovereignty or dominion, and at copy of every such Order in Council shall be laid before each House of Parliament within thirty days after the issue thereof, unless Parliament shall not then be in session, in which case a copy shall be laid before each House of Parliament within thirty days after the commencement of the next ensuing session

We now call upon the Queen of England, Elizabeth II, to show true leadership in her capacity as ‘Queen of Australia’, to bring an end to the colonial governance of Aboriginal Peoples, and to decolonise Australia.

Contact MICHAEL ANDERSON 0427 292 492