Summary

Henry Reynolds' The Law of the Land was first published in 1987 and advanced a radical reassessment of the history of property ownership in Australia.

Reynolds' work challenged the prevailing legal and historical orthodoxy under which it was assumed that as a consequence of colonisation, the Aboriginal peoples of Australia no longer enjoyed any enforceable rights to land arising from their traditional use and occupation.

Since its initial publication, The Law of the Land has been reissued in a new and expanded edition in 1992 and again in 2003. Each of the fresh editions contained additional material that was a response to changing events in the present.

The author is a professor in history and politics at James Cook University whose other books include 'The Other Side of the Frontier'. This edition contains a postscript on the Mabo case, notes, an index and a bibliography.