Earlier this year, members of the Adelaide, Northern and Yorke and South East branches gathered at Paul and wife Carol's Hackham home in Adelaide's southern suburbs to celebrate his 80th birthday. The occasion provided an opportunity not only to recognise a significant milestone, but also to reflect on a lifetime of service to the Australian Deer Association and deer hunting in South Australia.
Among hunting circles, Paul is widely regarded as a living encyclopedia of South Australian deer hunting. As one veteran hunter put it with a grin, "Paul has likely forgotten more about hunting deer than most of us could ever hope to learn."
True to form, Paul wasn't sitting at home waiting for the celebrations. In the days beforehand he was ‘on the hill’ on South Australia's Limestone Coast, where he harvested a mature black fallow buck whose antlers taped an impressive 224¾ Douglas Score, an achievement that would impress hunters of any generation.
Even today, Paul remains remarkably active. He keeps fit through regular cycling, swimming and gym sessions, while dividing his time between Hackham and Lowther Holiday Park near England's picturesque Lake District.
His contribution to the ADA has not gone unnoticed. In November 2024, Paul received one of the Association's highest honours, the prestigious Order of the Deer, at a gathering in Gawler attended by members from the Adelaide, Northern and Yorke and South East branches, together with national life member Patrick Ross. The award reflected the high regard in which he is held across the South Australian hunting community.
That respect has been forged not only through achievement but also resilience. In October 2019, Paul survived a life-threatening incident after blacking out while driving home from a Shelley hunting camp. What followed were prolonged hospital stays in Melbourne and Adelaide, multiple surgeries and an extended rehabilitation period. Characteristically, he approached the challenge with quiet determination, eventually returning to the hills he has loved for so many years.
Paul's passion for the outdoors began long before deer entered the picture. Born in Port Augusta in 1946 while his family was living at Hesso railway siding, he grew up learning bushcraft from his father Keith, a railway employee. Rabbits, kangaroos and feral goats formed his earliest hunting experiences. After the family moved to Adelaide's southern suburbs in 1952, Paul immersed himself in Australian rules football and surf lifesaving, pursuits that helped develop the fitness and resilience that would later serve him so well in the mountains.
His introduction to deer hunting came almost by chance in 1980. After bumping into fellow surf lifesaver Peter Stewart at a local deli, Paul accepted an invitation to attend an ADA branch meeting. Coincidentally, the meeting was held at Stewart's Hackham West home. Also present were well-known members Rudi Seljan and Allan Chapman. It proved to be a life-changing evening.
Just two years later, Paul harvested his first deer, a fallow doe in South Australia's Mid North. Later that same year he travelled to Victoria's High Country with Adelaide branch members and secured his first sambar. During that inaugural trip he harvested the memorable 30-inch Riley Creek stag that was later featured in Walking Them Up by Ken Pearce, where it ranked 34th among sambar recorded by ADA members at the time.
Over the decades that followed, Paul became one of the ADA's most dedicated grassroots contributors. He worked tirelessly to promote science-based deer management while fostering positive relationships with landholders, government agencies and the wider community.
In 1989, Paul travelled to South Carolina at the invitation of renowned American conservationist Joe Hamilton, founder of the Quality Deer Management Association, to hunt whitetail deer. The experience proved influential. The habitat management principles and quality deer management philosophy he brought back to Australia helped shape management practices on Adelaide branch hunting properties for many years afterwards.
His commitment to conservation extended well beyond deer management. Between 1988 and 2009, Paul led an ADA habitat restoration initiative that resulted in approximately 10,000 native trees being planted on private properties throughout South Australia's Clare Valley. Working alongside fellow members and supportive landholders, the project improved wildlife habitat, enhanced biodiversity and demonstrated the valuable contribution responsible hunters can make to landscape restoration and environmental stewardship.
Paul's record of service within the ADA is extensive.
He served as President of the Adelaide Branch from 1991 to 1993 and again from 1995 to 2000, while also undertaking numerous volunteer roles including huntmaster, newsletter editor, mentor, hunting guide, working bee organiser and accredited trophy measurer.
Nationally, Paul served as President of the Australian Deer Association from 2000 to 2002, helping strengthen the organisation's direction and advocacy during an important period of growth. He later returned to the National Executive from 2017 to 2018 and became an inaugural member of the Northern & Yorke Branch when it was established in 2019.
During this period he also served as President of the South Australian State Executive from 2017 to 2019, overseeing the operation of the state's first two ADA branches while working closely with the South Australian environment department on deer management issues.
Visitors to Paul and Carol's Hackham home are immediately drawn to the remarkable collection of trophies lining the walls. Among them are the famous Riley Creek sambar, a magnificent Niall Station chital stag, a 2022 hog deer, numerous fallow and roebuck, South African plains game and an exceptional South Island red stag measuring an impressive 395½ Douglas Score.
Yet those who know Paul best would argue that the trophies tell only part of his story.
Throughout his life he has generously shared his knowledge with new hunters, guided countless members on their first deer hunts and quietly mentored generations of ADA members. His influence reaches far beyond the animals he has harvested or the offices he has held. It is reflected in the people he has encouraged, the friendships he has built and the standards he has helped establish within the Association.
Paul has long believed that ethical hunting and responsible deer management are inseparable. He continues to see the Australian Deer Association as an essential advocate for recreational hunters, particularly as governments grapple with issues such as firearms regulation following the Bondi tragedy and expanding aerial deer culling programs across South Australia, including the South East, Fleurieu Peninsula and Clare Valley. In his view, informed advocacy, sound science and responsible hunters will remain central to the future of deer management in Australia.
For generations of South Australian deer hunters, Paul Castle has been far more than an accomplished hunter. He has been a mentor, conservationist, leader and custodian of the values that have shaped the Australian Deer Association in South Australia.
His legacy is measured not only by the trophies on his wall, but by the thousands of trees planted, the members he has mentored, the friendships he has fostered and the enduring contribution he has made to ethical deer hunting in Australia. Few members have contributed as much to the Australian Deer Association, and fewer still have done so with such humility. Long after the stories of individual hunts have faded, Paul Castle's influence on the Australian Deer Association and South Australian deer hunting will continue to be felt for generations to come.
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