| The handback of title to the Tasmanian Aboriginal Community of Cape Barren and Clarke Islands was made by the Tasmanian Premier Paul Lennon on 10 May 2005 under the Aboriginal Lands Amendment Act 2004 (Tas). It included 45,000 hectares of Cape Barren Island and 11,000 hectares of Clarke Island, to be held and managed by the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania.
The Aboriginal community has sought communal ownership of Cape Barren Island since 1866. Aboriginal survivors of the colonial era congregated on the Island which by 1920 had a population of appproximately 300 people. Subsequent government policy, which included the forcible removal of children however, ultimately forced people to the Tasmanian mainland. In 1995 a partial handback of land on Cape Barren Island was made under the the Aboriginal Lands Act 1995 (Tas). This second land transfer in 2005 placed the Island fully under Aboriginal ownership. |
