Anniversary of Tasmania’s Aboriginal Lands Act

14 November

On 14 November 1995, Tasmania’s Aboriginal Lands Act received royal assent. This anniversary marks that legislative milestone and the framework for returning culturally significant land to Tasmanian Aboriginal people. It recognises continuing connection to Country and the work of people who campaigned for land return.

What the Act provided

The Act established the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania and provided for specified land to be held in trust for Aboriginal people in perpetuity. Its original Schedule 3 listed twelve parcels.

Royal assent is the date used in this calendar. The Act provided separately for commencement by proclamation, so 14 November should not be described as the date of every legal transfer or handback ceremony.

The twelve original parcels

The original 1995 Schedule 3 lists the following places. Aboriginal names are included for Putalina, Preminghana and Piyura Kitina; the statutory descriptions identify the parcels in the historical record.

1. Putalina / Oyster Cove
2. Preminghana / Mount Cameron West
3. Mount Chappell Island
4. Steep (Head) Island
5. Kutikina Cave
6. Ballawinne Cave
7. Wargata Mina Cave
8. Badger Island
9. Babel Island
10. Great (Big) Dog Island
11. Piyura Kitina / Risdon Cove
12. Part of Cape Barren Island, identified as Wombat Point in the government’s later land-return inventory

Distinguishing later returns

The Cape Barren entry in the original schedule covered part of the island. It should not be confused with the much larger Cape Barren Island return in 2005. Wybalenna was added in 1999, and the 2005 returns also included Clarke Island.

The government’s 2022 inventory distinguishes these successive returns. Keeping them separate makes it possible to recognise each achievement without attributing all later land returns to the original twelve parcels.

Country, authority and continuing work

Land return concerns living relationships with Country, families, cultural practice and the ability to make decisions about places. A legislative milestone should be understood alongside the Aboriginal organising and continuing responsibilities that give it meaning.

Returning selected parcels did not settle every question of dispossession or future land return. The anniversary offers space to recognise an achievement and to listen to Aboriginal perspectives on what remains to be done.

Learning with care

Compare the original schedule with a later land-return inventory and ask why the dates and boundaries matter. Explore a publicly shared community account rather than treating the legislation as the whole story.

A place appearing in a public Act is not an invitation to enter it or share restricted cultural knowledge. Seek permission and current access guidance before planning a visit. In teaching, centre continuing Tasmanian Aboriginal life and authority, and credit Aboriginal sources and place names.

Sources and further reading

These sources provide historical context, official records and further learning. Some contain historical language and names or images of people who have died.

Online sources

Aboriginal Lands Act 1995: original Act. Documenting a Democracy. Royal assent, section 27 and the original twelve entries in Schedule 3.
https://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/resources/transcripts/tas7_doc_1995.pdf

Returning Land to Tasmania’s Aboriginal People: consultation paper, June 2022. Tasmanian Government. Historical background and Appendix 1 inventory, including Aboriginal place names and later returns.
https://nre.tas.gov.au/Documents/Returning%20Land%20to%20Tasmanias%20Aboriginal%20People%20-%20Consultation%20Paper%20on%20Proposals%20For%20Change.pdf

Our related products and resources

We do not currently offer products or learning resources specifically for this anniversary. The reading links above are provided for background and further learning. Suitable items from our range will be added here as they become available.