Acknowledgments

This book would not have been possible without the cooperation of the lawyers and anthropologists who agreed to be interviewed. They are Jeremy Beckett, Nonie Sharp and Brian Keon-Cohen for the Mabo case study; Patrick Sullivan and Erich Kolig for the Rubibi case study; Craig Elliott and Ross Howie for the De Rose Hill case study; and Peter Sutton and Jon Willis for Yulara. Tim Wooley, the principal legal officer of the Native Title Unit of the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement (South Australia), provided critical access to non-restricted documents and useful background explanation for De Rose Hill. The Crown Solicitor’s Office of South Australia kindly provided me with a copy of the unrestricted version of Ken Maddock’s expert reports.

In acknowledging the assistance of the participants in this research, I also acknowledge that they do not necessarily agree with the way I have presented them or the conclusions I have reached. All I can say is that I believe the current version presents the facts as fairly as I can, while remaining true to my assessment of those facts.

Ian Keen was my supervisor when this book started life as doctoral research. He has a deserved reputation as a good supervisor who knows when the wretched student needs praise, can offer practical escapes from seemingly dire entrapments and knows how to frame criticism in a way that gets under the guard of the most fragile ego. He has demonstrated all these qualities with me at various points, but mostly it has been a happy and productive collaboration. The doctoral research was really a group effort with my supervisory panel and the participants in the research. The other members of the panel—Francesca Merlan, Don Gardner and Gary Edmond—provided extensive feedback. As will be evident in the conclusion, the discussion of the draft chapters with the participants has been rewarding, if a little testing at times, and helped to clarify my thinking.

At the ANU, I have received special assistance and information from David Martin, Julie Finlayson and Kevin Murphy. Yasmine Musharbash spread good rumours about my work. Brendan Gibson helped me with theory over a Guinness. Moreover, Nic Peterson’s unstinting support ensured the completion of this project.

I owe a special debt to my wife, Rosemary Budavari, and my children, Mark and Helen. It is not easy living with a husband and father who is physically present, but not there. Rosemary proofread previous versions of the book and translated some German articles for me. Moreover, her job and practical support kept the whole show on the road.