Barefoot and bloodshot, he did not want to speak – only to sit and think of his friend Joshua Hardy, 21, who died from head injuries sustained here in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Mr Hardy had been to dinner with friends from university. One of them put him into a cab after the revelry, and on the ride home to Parkville he stopped at McDonald's on St Kilda Road.

What happened next is under investigation, but it was there he encountered Kyle Zandipour, 27, a young man who works for ANZ, and who is now charged with murder.

Mr Zandipour appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Sunday, flanked by his mother and a woman believed to be his fiancee, and has been remanded into custody following the events outside the fast food outlet.

It was there the two young men ended up in a tragic but all too common alcohol-fuelled late-night skirmish, ending one life and irrevocably harming many more.

The hardest hit are in Darwin, where Mr Hardy grew up as the progeny of two prominent indigenous families, the Hardys and the Bristons – the latter a respected Larrakia family of traditional landowners.

"He only had 21 years on this planet, but he left a footprint, and it was a damn big footprint," Mr Hardy's father, David, told Channel Nine in Darwin.

"He took opportunities with both hands and he made the most of life," Mr Hardy said.

Joshua was their promising and proud 6 foot 2 son, the eldest of more than a dozen close cousins.

"He was the leader – he was the big guy," said his uncle, Shaun Hardy. "He was always looking out for the younger ones, the little ones.

"He was always such a sensitive and generous young man, always thinking about others before himself. That's what people are hurting about most. Because he was so gentle. He would never be a fighter. It's not in his DNA."

Mr Hardy came to Melbourne Grammar School in 2010 as part of its "indigenous programme", and then went to the University of Melbourne.

He was recently reunited at Trinity College with his sister Rebecca, who joined him after her own scholarship path through Loreto College in Adelaide.

"Everything was on the up," said Shaun Hardy. "They had everything to look forward to."

Mr Hardy was an athlete. Friends remember him playing basketball in high school, a strong passer and perimeter shooter who sunk a three-pointer on the buzzer to send the team into a grand final, which it won.

"On the court he was a leader and a really hard worker," said his former coach, Nick Abdicevic. "Off the court he was funny and laid back. Good friends with everyone. He was a lovely kid. Placid."

He also played football as a ruckman and tall forward, and was this year part of a Trinity College team that broke a decades-long drought to win a premiership.

A friend on Sunday posted a photo of the team on Facebook, with the caption: "#15, you are a ten." Another friend suggested the guernsey worn by Mr Hardy should be retired.

His horizons were expanding, too. This year alone he went to Perth to play touch football in the university games, along with a trip to Bali and a long tour of Europe.

"Feels like just yesterday we were on the other side of the world, having the time of our lives together!" wrote friend Paul Bond on social media. "Rest in piece JH."

He was a good student, finishing an arts degree but with aspirations to study law, including a particular interest in furthering indigenous causes. He also worked with indigenous youth through the AIME mentoring program, and on holidays was completing an internship with BP.

In many ways, said his uncle, Melbourne and its opportunities were a means to an end – a chance to prepare for hard work back home in Darwin.

"He was looking for bigger and better things," said Shaun Hardy. "I would have earmarked him as a future political leader or business leader for the Northern Territory. He was a natural."

His family are, understandably, not coping well. His sister flew home to Darwin on Sunday, allowing them to rally as a whole.

"A big part of it is trying to understand why," said his uncle. "Nothing is going to bring Joshua back. We know that. But the family really want to impress a point – that actions have consequences.

"We know that it's not only our family affected by this. It's the families of the perpetrators, and it's the broader community. No one wins from this situation. Everyone loses."

"All young people need to realise that actions have consequences. It's not just our family that are going to be hurting – there is a domino effect," David Hardy told Channel Nine.

He urged parents to jump on the phone and tell their kids they love them, "we know that was the last thing we said to Josh."

konrad.marshall@fairfaxmedia.com.au

@KonradMarshall