In 1971 the plan was clear. We would spend one year in the huts, two years in a new building behind John Clancy auditorium, and our final two years in a new law faculty building. It just took a little longer than planned. Thirty four years longer. The law faculty building was finally opened last year.

Dean David Dixon thought it would be a good idea for the first intake of law students and graduates, the “Originals”, to see his shiny new purple pride and joy. So he offered us a free drink. Here is a man who knows the quick way to the hearts of students from that era.

And they came. Sue from Hobart, Carmel from Forster, Marto from Armidale, Jacko from Lismore, Marilyn from Canberra, Del Gigante from Griffith, Anicich from Newcastle, Ross Dixon from Nowra, Al Noronha from Maitland, Al Cowley from Byron Bay, Brad Stuart from Orange. They came from the judiciary, from the big law firms and the suburban ones, from the international accounting firms, from the bar, academia, government and business. Amusing messages of regret came from Melbourne, Perth, Athens, FNQ, the US and San Miguel de Allende in the central mountains of Mexico.

Close on a hundred. For us the names never change. The girls receive the respect of first names - “Barb” and “Maria” and “Gerry”. The blokes get surnames - “McIlwaine” and “Weekes” and “Connell”. Others will always be “Kingo” and “Gibbo” and “Libbo”. The Chancellor was there, still known as “Gonski”. Plus lecturers and staff, forever “Coper”, “Nettheim”, “Blackshield” and “RobBrian”.

One person stood apart back in the early days. He always will. Professor John Halden Wootten. “Hal”. He looks the same, his quiet drawl is the same, his messages and beliefs are the same. That we are privileged to be entrusted with the rule of law and are responsible for maintaining it. That the legal system must encompass and defend the disenfranchised in our society. That everyone is entitled to the presumption of innocence and the right to a fair and early trial regardless of wealth, power or influence. Fundamental principles and rights. Hal taught us that adherence to these principles is a no-brainer. It still is. It always will be, in spite of the difficulty that many politicians seem to have from time to time in understanding it. And he taught us that these messages need to be carried into business and government as well as legal aid and local courts.

We trust that David Dixon’s splendid and well-resourced purple building will produce leaders with the same beliefs, and the strength of character to adhere to them.

For those of us who were there on Day One 1971, and the graduates who joined us two years later, there is only one “Hal”. On 27 February 2008 it was our great fortune to see him, and listen to him, once more. May his messages and beliefs be infused into the walls and floors and classrooms and halls of the new law school building. And into the hearts and minds of every generation of law students who pass through it.

The speech Professor Hal Wooten gave at The Originals’ Drinks go to: http://www.law.unsw.edu.au/alumni/