'On 19 September 2006 Justice Wilcox of the Federal Court declared that the Noongar people of south-west Western Australia held native title over Perth. It was a stunning decision. For the first time, the enduring connection of an Indigenous group to a metropolitan area was recognised in a Court proceeding. It seemed that the myth of cultural destruction in the settled south was finally upended. The euphoric claimants shed tears of joy.' (Introduction)