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Felicity Hampel is the President of Liberty Victoria. The press release is available here.

Tributes to 'great white warrior'

By MARGO KINGSTON
Sydney Morning Herald Friday, October 22, 1999

Politicians across the spectrum, judges and Aboriginal leaders paid tribute to Melbourne QC Mr Ron Castan, who died suddenly yesterday aged 59.

Mr Castan's vision for native title saw him spend 10 years fighting the Mabo case through to the High Court, with the result that Aboriginal land rights received legal recognition for the first time.

He spent much of his life fighting for native title and against racism through the legal system - mostly free of charge - after appearing in a land dispute in Papua New Guinea as a young barrister.

A Federal Court Judge, Justice Ron Merkel, a lifelong friend, said yesterday that Mr Castan's commitment to justice for Aboriginal people had "resulted in a legacy that has significantly contributed to Australia's maturity as a nation".

"Mabo was a long-term vision of Ron's ... that came to fruition in Mabo," he said.

Mr Castan advised the Labor Party throughout the Mabo and Wik debates in Federal Parliament, and came up with the solution to the major impasse to its passage in the Senate which was adopted by Senator Brian Harradine in the Wik settlement.

Sydney QC Mr John Basten said that "in his pursuit of social justice, especially for indigenous Australians, he was an invaluable contact between politicians, powerful business interests and Aboriginal leaders".

Democrats Senator Aden Ridgeway described Mr Castan as "a great white warrior who fought for indigenous people and for the human rights of all Australians".

There was also praise from the Attorney-General, Mr Williams, and the the Opposition Leader, Mr Beazley

Under grey skies, they honor the lawyer who fought racism
DARRIN FARRANT
The Age Saturday 23 October 1999
Yesterday they laid to rest "the great white warrior against racism". In life Ron Castan, QC, the passionate Mabo advocate and human rights lawyer, had always embraced the community. In death, the community came to mourn him.

Judges, fellow lawyers, Aboriginal and Jewish leaders, politicians and numerous less prominent admirers joined Mr Castan's family and friends to remember a man who dedicated his life to helping others.

The large crowd - several hundred people - gathered at the Chevra Kadisha Cemetery in Springvale, many standing forlornly in the rain as the eulogies were delivered.

Mr Castan died unexpectedly in hospital on Thursday, which seem to magnify the collective sadness.

They were there to pay tribute to one of Australia's most powerful social consciences. Mr Castan was always willing to practise what he preached in the courtroom - he was noted for his quiet philanthrophy.

The Federal Court's Justice Alan Goldberg spoke of the lessons of the Holocaust which Mr Castan, 59, absorbed as a young man. This had ensured he could never stand by or be indifferent "while people are downtrodden ... especially in his own country".

It was these values that led Mr Castan to become one of the founders of both the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service and the Koorie Heritage Trust.

He was also one of the barristers in Mabo, the landmark case of 1992 which led to land rights for Aborigines. Mr Castan's advocacy was so impressive that he is widely credited with shaping the High Court's decision in that case.

Mr Castan viewed Mabo "not as the end but as the beginning". He believed firmly that genuine reconciliation was possible.

Justice Goldberg said it was the indigenous Senator Aden Ridgeway who had labelled Mr Castan the "white warrior" for "radically changing our understanding" of native title.

Mr Castan also provided legal advice for the applicants before the High Court in the 1983 Tasmanian Dams case. Yesterday one of the mourners, the Australian Conservation Foundation's president, Mr Peter Garrett, paid tribute to Mr Castan's work. "We salute Ron as an outstanding Australian," he said.

Mr Castan is survived by his wife Nellie and their three children.