Book of Days Tales

Mabo Day commemorates the anniversary of the historic Mabo Decision when on 3rd June 1992 the High Court of Australia approved Eddie Koiki Mabo’s petition to grant ownership of his native Mer Island (Murray Island), in the Torres Strait, to the local inhabitants, rejecting the legal doctrine of terra nullius (no one’s land) applied by the British government when they claimed Australia for the crown.  British explorers and colonists used three separate principles when claiming and occupying territories. One was outright military conquest. The second was by treaty (although treaties were usually backed up by armies).  The third was terra nullius which was applied to uninhabited regions, or when the new arrivals determined that the indigenous population were not “civilized” enough to own land and sign treaties.  I am not a big fan of any of these principles, but terra nullius is clearly based on racism and ignorance.  Not all indigenous peoples on discovery by Europeans had laws of land ownership, but ALL had rules concerning land rights. Mabo, with aid of legal counsel, was able to demonstrate that Mer Island had always had a traditional system of laws regarding land rights (and had occupied those lands continuously since colonial times), and therefore terra nullius did not apply.  The court agreed.  This action has set the cat among the pigeons throughout Australia with regard to aboriginal land rights.  Mabo Day is an official holiday in Queensland and the Torres Strait islands, but since the 10th anniversary in 2002 there have been efforts to make it a national Australian holiday.

Torres Strait island cooking has absorbed diverse elements from Europe and Asia, but still retains its individuality.  This recipe stems from a 2004 foodie event in Melbourne entitled Eating the City, in which an extraordinary medley of ethnic groups from all over the city came together to represent their cultures with food.  This dish, a puffy noodle concoction, was served by Torres Strait Elder Ella Pitt who has lived on the mainland since being evacuated from her island (Darnley Island or Erub, near Mer) during the Japanese bombing of Darwin in WW II. You can use these noodles to accompany a main dish, or sweeten them for a dessert. Golden syrup is a British favorite which can be found online in the U.S. These do not keep well, so halve the recipe if necessary.

Sabi Sabi Domboy

Ingredients:

1 lb (450 g) plain flour
8 oz (225 g) self-raising flour
1 ½ cups (400 ml) coconut cream
Salt to taste

Instructions:

Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to the boil. The saucepan should be large enough to accommodate the pasta without going off the boil too long.  If you do not have a large enough one, cook them in two batches.

Mix the two flours together and add enough cold water to make an elastic dough like pasta dough. Mix and knead well for at least 5 minutes.

Roll the dough flat until it is a ¼ inch (6 mm) thick.

Break the dough into little pieces (domboys), the size of small flat pasta. Uniformity is not important. Think of classic Southern chicken and dumplings.

Add the domboys all at once to the boiling water.

When the domboys begin to float to the top of the water, drain immediately.

Combine the domboys and coconut cream in the same pot, bring slowly to the boil. Turn down the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally so the domboys don’t stick or burn. Add a little more coconut cream if needed.

Serve with fish, or as a dessert with golden syrup.

Serves 8-10