21 January 2013
terra nullius
Latin phrase meaning ‘land belonging to no-one’.
It was derived from Roman law, but was enshrined in the laws of a number of colonising powers as they settled land that was occupied by indigenous tribes.
Example sentence
Mabo Day is celebrated on 3 June and commemorates the efforts of Eddie Mabo who challenged the principle of ‘terra nullius’ in Australia. On 3 June 1992, the High Court of Australia overturned the principle of ‘terra nullius’, and formally recognised the right of indigenous people to their land.
Today’s aphorism
‘Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past’.
– George Orwell
On this day
21 January – Squirrel Appreciation Day.
21 January 1863 – State funeral held in Melbourne for Australian explorers, Burke and Wills, who had died in June or July of 1861. 40,000 people spectators lined the streets for the funeral procession as it travelled to the Melbourne General Cemetery.
21 January 1924 – death of Vladimir Lenin, Russian communist revolutionary and political leader. He served as Russian leader from 1917 to 1924 and concurrently as Premier of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1924.
21 January 1950 – death of George Orwell (born Eric Arthur Blair), English author of works such as ‘Nineteen-Eighty Four‘, ‘Animal Farm‘, and ‘Homage to Catalonia‘.
21 January 1992 – death of Eddie Mabo. Campaigner for indigenous land rights in the Torres Strait. Successfully challenged the concept of ‘terra nullius‘, resulting in indigenous ownership of land in Australia to be recognised.