The name Vince Castle is one that many people throughout the Clarence Valley and the Australian Sugar Industry will have heard.
Vince sadly lost his battle with illness earlier this week. Whilst he may be gone, Vince Castle will long be remembered for his honesty, integrity and his commitment to family, community and industry.
Referred to by those who know him, whether it be personally or professionally, as an ‘exceptional man’, Vince was born and raised on a sugarcane and dairy farm in the Palmers Channel area near Yamba. Vince and his twin brother Tony were known as many things….family men, hard workers, negotiators, orators and accomplished practical jokers.
Having attended school at the now closed Palmers Channel School, Vince and Tony are still remembered by their peers as having played on their likeness as twins to pull of many a prank on friends, family and even their doctor!
Having led cane cutting gangs in his early twenties, Vince was an extraordinarily hard worker. He is known for having led a team of 6 men cutting and loading some 120 tonnes of cane by hand per day for more than 20 seasons. It was remarkable to him when the first of the mechanical harvesters arrived on the scene and could cut some 600 tonnes in a day.
Mechanisation and other advancements in cane farming allowed Vince to focus more of his energy on industry involvement. He was the founding Chairman of the Palmers Island Harvesting Co-operative. This later became Central Clarence and then Clarence Harvesting Co-operative as it’s known today.
Vince served as an executive member of the Clarence Cane Growers Association for many years and held the position of Chairman from 1998 to 2012. Furthermore, he was a delegate on the NSW Cane Growers Council, holding the Chairman’s position from 2007 to 2012.
Anyone who ever met Vince will know that he was a confident and practical man who was never afraid to speak up over an issue he was passionate about. He had an uncanny ability to articulate himself to any audience, from other cane growers to lawyers and politicians, and did so with an authoritative yet calm demeanour.
Some of his neighbour’s recall watching Vince driving his tractor whilst simultaneously rehearsing for an upcoming meeting or encounter. The giveaway was the pounding of his hand on the bonnet of the tractor as he leaned forward and spoke to it with great vigour and expression!
Vince’s passion for his family saw him direct enormous drive into support for families with disabled children. In 1953, Vince played an instrumental role in raising money to start the Caringa School for children with disability. Fast forward to today and Caringa now delivers a wide range of disability support services regionally.
In 2013 Vince was awarded a Premiers Community Award and in 2021, a plaque was unveiled to officially name the new Caringa building after Vince for his long tenure as Chairman and his incredible service to the community.
Relatives and friends of the late Vince Castle are respectfully invited to attend the requiem mass at St Mary’s Catholic Church, Woodford Street Maclean on Friday 14th July 2023 at 1.30pm, followed by a service of burial at the Lawn Cemetery, Brooms Head Road, Townsend.
[12 July 2023]