Cobourg Peninsula Land Claim No. 6 Report

This Report presents the findings and recommendations of the Aboriginal Land Commissioner (Commissioner) following an inquiry into the Cobourg Peninsula Land Claim (No. 6), a traditional Aboriginal land claim application which was made by the Northern Land Council under section 50(1)(a) of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (Cth) (Land Rights Act) on 30 March 1978. The Report was provided to the Minister for Indigenous Australians and the Administrator of the Northern Territory on 19 June 2024.

The Commissioner recommends the grant to the traditional Aboriginal owners of the land subject to claim in the Cobourg Peninsula Land Claim. The original application lays claim to the entire Cobourg Peninsula Marine Park from the boundary of the West Arnhem Land Aboriginal Land Trust and adjacent coastal islands. In May 1984 by deed of grant, the Cobourg Peninsula was granted as Aboriginal freehold land to be held in trust as authorised under the Cobourg Peninsula Aboriginal Land and Sanctuary Act 1981 (NT); however, due to the operation of section 67A(1)(b) of the Land Rights Act and the original application not being withdrawn upon the land grant, the Commissioner maintained jurisdiction to conduct an inquiry into the claim under the Land Rights Act.

The Commissioner’s inquiry was initially confined to an area in the northwestern part of the Peninsula described as the Disputed Area. The inquiry subsequently was expanded to the entire area claimed in the original application in order to make findings about the traditional ownership concerning the entire claim area as reflected in the original application.