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Founding document used in land rights push

The Letters Patent established the province of South Australia in early 1836.

9 May 2008 - A 172-year-old document that is claimed to guarantee Aboriginal rights will be used in a new land rights campaign in the far west of South Australia.

The Kokatha Mula people say the Letters Patent established the rights of Aborigines in early 1836 at the time it established the province of South Australia.

Representative Bronwyn Coleman-Sleep will outline the case to the Aboriginal lands parliamentary committee of State Parliament.

She says the document's powers have never been rescinded.

"Always, for always have a right to the enjoyment and occupation of our land - it's written in black and white for whoever wants to read it," she said.

"The question is whether anybody's got the substance required to deal with the Letters Patent and what it says."

Source: ABC

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