Sir William Patrick Deane

Born 4th January 1931 in Melbourne, Victoria. Catholic educated and studied and lectured in law. Attended the Hague Academy of International Law. Worked in the federal Attorney-General's Department in Canberra.Travelled in Europe studying international law.

Appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. In the same year he was appointed to the Federal Court of Australia and as President of the Australian Trade Practices Tribunal. In July 1982 he was appointed to the High Court of Australia. On the court he formed part of the majority that recognised native title in the landmark Mabo case of 1992.

August 1995, Paul Keating (PM) appointed Deane as Governor-General. While he never directly criticised the government, the tenor of his comments was clear to most observers. Deane's term ended in 2001. Deane became openly critical of the Howard Government. In 2001, Deane was awarded the Sydney Peace Prize "for his consistent support of vulnerable and disadvantaged Australians and his strong commitment to the cause of reconciliation".

  • “As Governor-General, I must be conscious of the need to avoid becoming involved in divisive or party political debate. It is, however, permissible for me to make a plea to the Aboriginal peoples to recognise the progress that has been made in recent years....and to point out to non-Aboriginal people how much remains to be done to overcome or alleviate the terrible problems which are the present consequences of past oppression and injustice.”

Speech – On the occasion of an ecumenical service for the victims of the canyoning tragedy

  • Delivered on 5 August 1999
  • On 31 July 1999, a flash flood burst through the Saxeten River near the Swiss Alpine resort of Interlaken. It killed 21 people, including 14 Australians.
  • A memorial service as held on 5 August 1999 at Interlaken in Switzerland.
  • Audience:
  • Hundreds of people including mourning family and friends of the deceased.
  • Both Australians and Swiss audience.
  • Canyoning tragedy, in which 21 young people lost their lives. Four tour guides who survived the raging flood that on July 27 swept down the narrow Saxetenbach creek gorge, near the central Swiss resort of Interlaken.
  • Those who died were in a group of 99 taking part in the adventure sport of canyoning, organised by Adventure World, under a contract with the international travel group, Contiki Holidays. Canyoning involves swimming and sliding down fast-flowing rivulets wearing padded wetsuits, life jackets and helmets, as well as abseiling down cliffs alongside waterfalls.
  • Their injuries—smashed heads, torsos and limbs—were so terrible that their bodies were often initially unidentifiable. A police spokesman said they had been battered beyond recognition. “We found a lot of bruises on the faces of these young victims," Ulrich Zollinger of the Swiss Forensics Institute told reporters. “They also had traumatisation of the brain and abdomen.” He compared the injuries to those suffered in an air crash, and said it might take up to three weeks to identify all the bodies.

References