Richard was literally the first person I met when I started as a shy young tutor in JCU's School of Biological Sciences in 1973.

As I hesitantly entered the Tea Room (remember those?) and surveyed the chatty scene of unknown faces, Richard gestured to me and called out "Richard!".

As the room quietened and heads turned in my direction, I replied "No, my name is Dermot". To which Richard responded, "No, I'm directing "The Lion in Winter" and you're going to play Richard the Lionheart".

And I did - the perfect introduction to my new life in Townsville, made possible by Richard's capacity to get things done and bring people along for the ride.

I've been very fortunate to keep in touch with Richard as our careers intersected on Indigenous people's use and management of marine protected areas and Sea Country more broadly, and I had the pleasure of working closely with him during the Coastal Zone Inquiry in the early 1990s.

Despite no mention of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander rights and interests in the Inquiry's Terms of Reference, Richard strongly supported substantial consultations with Indigenous people right around the Australian coast, including Tasmania and Torres Strait.