‘Big tree down’: Archie Roach remembered as a truth-teller, healer and First Nations champion

‘He was a healer and unifying force’: musicians, athletes and politicians have expressed their sadness at the death of the Indigenous musician and activist Archie Roach. Photograph: Tracey Nearmy/AAP

The Indigenous Australian songwriter and activist Archie Roach has been praised as a “courageous” and “powerful” truth-teller, as leading figures in politics and the arts mourn his passing.

Roach died aged 66, after a long illness, surrounded by his family and loved ones at Warrnambool Base Hospital.