My parents had five children. Michael was the eldest, born in 1939. Then came twin boys, Donald and David, born in 1941. David died on August 9, 1942, and I was born nine months later. My sister Diana arrived in 1946.

Michael was always the dominant older brother. The only perceptible difference from the rest of us was that he was studious and ambitious. From an early age he did little else than study. We all thought that one day he would be prime minister.

Michael Kirby with Johan van Vloten in the High Court chamber.

By the early 1960s, we were all at university. Michael had, by that time, accumulated four university degrees with high honours and held every conceivable office in student politics. He appeared to be on track to achieving his ambition. Often on a Saturday night, I would set out with my brother Donald for a party. As we passed Michael's bedroom, he would part the curtains as he sat at his desk, and would watch us without comment. On our return, well after midnight, he would still be at his desk working.

At the time we imagined that this solitary life was Michael's choice and the price of ambition. We were thankful that we were not afflicted by such. As we now know, the aching solitude of his life was the consequence of a dark secret. He was attracted to men. As he said in his Memoir, A Private Life, the message he received from his early teens was that his secret should be the source of deep shame.