On March 29, 1979, Larrakia Aborigines received formal recognition as the traditional landowners of a large area of their traditional homeland on the Cox Peninsula opposite Darwin -- but the Northern Territory Government disputed the decision. After a 25-year battle, the Northern Territory government has withdrawn their appeal.
Larrakia Nation spokesperson Bill Risk and Northern Land Council Chief Executive Officer Norman Fry have both expressed their joy over the land claim victory. It has taken many years and a new Northern Territory Government to reach the settlement, returning the land to its original Larrakia owners.
The land claim has been forced through a prolonged legal process, being delayed over and over again. The Northern Territory Government has spent an estimated $20 million in trying to hinder the Larrakia claim. Fry hopes that the Northern Territory government’s decision concerning the Kenbi claim will set a new stage for coexistence and cooperation with the Aborigines.
“After more than 20 years of struggle our rights have finally been recognized. Aboriginal people have always known that our law still exists in the Darwin region. We have never left here, our culture is still alive and now that has been confirmed in non-Aboriginal law” (The Larrakia Nation spokesperson Bill Risk).
