Phillip Toyne (16 November 1947 – 13 June 2015) was an Australian environmental and indigenous rights activist, lawyer, and founder of

Landcare Australia Landcare Australia is the name for a community not-for-profit organisation which involves local groups of volunteers repairing the natural environment. Originally projects focused on agricultural farmland. The idea was that farmers, conservati ...

. He was the head of the

Australian Conservation Foundation The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) is Australia's national environmental organisation, launched in 1965 in response to a proposal by the World Wide Fund for Nature for a more co-ordinated approach to sustainability. One high-profil ...

from 1986 to 1992. He negotiated the Pitjantjatjara Land Rights Act and the successful

native title Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism. The requirements of proof for the recognition of aboriginal title, ...

claim of the traditional owners of

Uluru Uluru (; pjt, Uluṟu ), also known as Ayers Rock ( ) and officially Gazette#Gazette as a verb, gazetted as UluruAyers Rock, is a large sandstone geological formation, formation in the centre of Australia. It is in the southern part of the ...

in 1983. He was awarded the title of

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in 2012, "For distinguished service to environmental law through executive and advisory roles, particularly the introduction of a National Landcare Program, to the protection and restoration of Australian landscapes, and to the Indigenous community." He was the author of two books, * ''Growing up the country: the Pitjantjatjara struggle for their land'' (1984), * ''The reluctant nation: environment, law, and politics in Australia'' (1994), Toyne lived in

Gundaroo Gundaroo is a small village in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia and in Yass Valley Council. It is situated to the east of the Yass River, about north of Sutton, about west of the Lake George range. At the , Gundaroo ...

and died in 2015 of

bowel cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel m ...

, aged 67.

References

1947 births 2015 deaths Australian environmentalists Deaths from cancer in New South Wales Deaths from colorectal cancer 20th-century Australian lawyers Officers of the Order of Australia 21st-century Australian lawyers {{Australia-bio-stub