By CHRISTINE HOWES

A 150 year struggle for justice ended in three Native Title determinations on Cape York last month.

From the violence of the frontier to the strength of survival, the Federal Court has recognised the Wuthathi, Guugu Yimidhirr and Yithuwarra as the rightful custodians for their Country. The hearings mark a defining moment in a story that began two and a half centuries ago when Captain James Cook came ashore in 1770 – a meeting that shaped the relationship between First Nations peoples and newcomers for generations to come.