Des passed away in May 2019 aged 86. He was recognised for the majority of his legal career as Qld's leading defence counsel after being mentored by Dan Casey who held this honour for 30 years until his retirement in the early 60s.

I first met Des in the early 60s when he met with my boss Les Bardwell over ballistic evidence he was to give in forthcoming trials.

Des had a passion for firearms and he was a avid duck shooter and he enjoyed nothing more than when he was cross examining Les on his ballistic evidence.

He was great friends with Gordon and Jim Kingston who were Qld's leading gunsmiths trading as Kingston Brothers Gunsmith. He would seek their advice on issues he was uncertain of, and we always knew that he was always fully prepared for his trial cross examinations.

Gordon was called on numerous occasions to give evidence for the defence.

In fact, Les and I were also in the inner circle of friends of the Kingston brothers and we also able to add to our firearm knowledge.

When Les Bardwell neared towards the end of his career in 1976, I had already established myself as a ballistic expert after five years in training.

One always knew that when Des was defending any case involving firearms care had to be taken in your preparation and presentation of your evidence including research into what may be canvassed in his cross examination.

Des was quietly spoken, choosing his words carefully spoken he never raised his voice in anger. He would chip away with questions until he achieved his desired outcome, no matter who the witness was.

I was involved in dozens of encounters with Des in the many trials in which we were involved with. 

We both had respect for one another, and he never ever was critical of my evidence.

Many times, he would approach me before a trial and canvas with me the issues he was going to raise so that he could reach the points he wanted to raise with the jury in a quiet and orderly manner.

On numerous occasions he would ask through the Crown Prosecutor for further tests he would like with the firearm and the prosecutor and defence would witness the results as they were conducted.

Des was very persuasive and emotive in his final address to a jury, a skill that eluded many defence barristers.

He had many wins and also losses as well, perhaps most notable was the trial of Donald John Maher in what was known as the National Hotel murder in the early 70s in which he was found guilty.

Des was a very compassionate person who took very seriously the plight of his client and on many occasions, he would defend pro bono if he genuinely believed in his client's case.

He was known as a friend of the police and he defended many police in criminal trials, and I can't recall him losing any.

It was mooted that Des had many approaches to be appointed a Supreme Court judge which he declined as saw himself as a people's advocate.

In 1985 he was appointed the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) a role he held until 1990, during that time he was appointed a Q C.

He then returned to his criminal practice and gradually wound down his workload until he retired around 2005.

Des had plenty of opportunities to crucify police in the witness box, but he never took that final step, leaving it to the jury to form their own opinion on the evidence given by the witness. 

After he retired meant he moved to the Gold Coast for five years and we shared many lunches going over events in our past careers. He was granted Associate membership of the Gold Coast Branch of the Retired Police. He was very proud of the honour and attended many of our monthly social lunches.

Des Sturgess was nature's gentleman with a very caring and compassionate outlook on life and I felt honoured to be amongst his circle of friends.