It is with great sadness that we record the death of our friend and FONB committee member Gerard Castles who passed away unexpectedly last Monday 31 March. Gerard was doing what he loved, bushwalking in the Walls of Jerusalem National Park.
Gerard was our Vice-President from 2017 to 2024, and a great contributor to the work of FONB.
He and his family – his wife Shayne and children Conor and Sarah – were ’shackies’ in Killora, and neighbours of Richard Flanagan. Like Richard, Gerard was angered by the degradation of their lifestyle in Killora by the Tassal salmon leases opposite, and by the degradation of the Channel as a whole by the salmon industry. He founded the Killora Community Association to speak out against the industry, and was its chief spokesperson. That led to him becoming involved in the Tasmanian Alliance for Marine Protection (TAMP) and Neighbours of Fish Farming (NOFF), and recently in supporting Peter George, former President of TAMP and NOFF, in running as an independent candidate for the Federal seat of Franklin in the forthcoming Federal election. He helped organise many protests, including the Salmon Out protest at Coningham in 2023 and the recent Verona Sands rally last month, and frequently spoke at such events.
Another focus of his activism in recent years was the campaign against a helicopter tourism proposal for Lake Malbena in the Central Highlands.
Gerard was never content to just complain; he would act. And he would bring to this his professional skills as a communicator, facilitator and strategic thinker. In recent weeks he was contributing to discussions on the island about how to address over tourism on Bruny, which had been a concern of his and within FONB for some time.
Alex Matysek, committee member and former President of FONB, captured the moment in a short tribute this week – ‘Our community has lost a giant mind, a beautiful person and a warrior environmentalist. His death while trekking in his heart country is so poignant, but we will all remember him for his passion and conviction for our environmental causes and his enthusiastic commitment to lead our Bruny communities. He lived life to the full with his family, friends, causes and work.’
We send our condolences to Shayne, Conor and Sarah.
