George Rich
Encyclopedia
Sir George Edward Rich KCMG
PC
(3 May 1863 – 14 May 1956), Australia
n judge, was a justice of the High Court of Australia
.
Rich was born in the town of Braidwood
, New South Wales
, in 1863. He was educated at Sydney Grammar School
, and later studied at the University of Sydney
, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1883 and a Master of Arts in 1885. In 1887, Rich was admitted to the New South Wales Bar. Around this time he married Betha Bowker, with whom he would have two sons and a daughter.
Rich remained involved with the University of Sydney, founding the student magazine Hermes, the first publication by the University of Sydney Union
, in 1886. He also started the boat club at the university, and in 1889, was among those who established The Women's College at the university. In his legal work, Rich was principally an equity specialist. From 1890 to 1910, Rich lectured in equity part-time at the University of Sydney's law school. He was also the co-author of the first New South Wales-specific textbook on equity practice. He was made a King's Counsel in 1911, and in the same year was appointed as an acting judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales
. He was made a full judge in 1912.
In 1913, Rich was appointed to the newly created seventh seat on the bench of the High Court of Australia
, taking up his seat on 5 April of that year. He was appointed following the resignation of Albert Piddington
, who never took up his seat on the High Court, and quit amidst a controversy over his appointment. There has been some suggestion that Rich was a "safe" choice, because of his uncontroversial and uncombative nature, but Rich's legal ability was rarely questioned.
Rich had a long career on the High Court, not retiring until 5 May 1950. During World War I
, Rich's associate was Edward McTiernan
, a future Justice of the High Court, and indeed a future colleague. Rich was also a judge of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration
, from 1921 to 1922, and later in 1922 he served as Australia's delegate to the League of Nations
. He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
in 1932, and in 1936 was appointed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
. From 1940 to 1941, Rich was acting Chief Justice of Australia
, while John Latham took leave to serve in Tokyo
as Australia's first Minister (Ambassador) to Japan
.
Rich's judgments are generally considered to be clear and concise. Some commentators attribute this more to laziness than to a knack for clarity. It was often rumoured that fellow justice (and later Chief Justice
) Owen Dixon
wrote many of Rich's judgments for him, and Dixon recorded in his papers that on one occasion (the case of Isaacs v McKinnon), in an appeal from the Federal Court of Bankruptcy, Rich's judgment was written by the judge whose decision was being appealed.
Rich, who retired at age 87, holds the record for being the oldest justice to sit on the bench of the High Court. This record will almost certainly not be broken, since High Court justices must retire at age 70
. It is said that following the funeral of former justice Sir Isaac Isaacs
in 1943, Hayden Starke
said to Rich (who at that stage was 80 years old) "George, are you sure it's worth your while going home?"
Rich retired on his eighty-seventh birthday in 1950. Geoffrey Sawer has suggested that Rich delayed his retirement until after the 1949 federal election
(at which the conservative Menzies government
came to power) in order to prevent the Labor
Chifley government
from being able to appoint a judge. Following his retirement, the members of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple
elected Rich as an Honorary Master. Later that year, he married his second wife, Letitia Woodward (Betha had died in 1945). Rich died in 1956, at age 93. An obituary in the Australian Law Journal
described Rich as:
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
PC
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
(3 May 1863 – 14 May 1956), Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n judge, was a justice of the High Court of Australia
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
.
Rich was born in the town of Braidwood
Braidwood, New South Wales
Braidwood is a town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, in Palerang Shire. It is located on the busy Kings Highway linking Canberra to Batemans Bay on the coast. It is about 200 kilometres south west of Sydney and about 60 kilometres inland from the coast...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, in 1863. He was educated at Sydney Grammar School
Sydney Grammar School
Sydney Grammar School is an independent, non-denominational, selective, day school for boys, located in Darlinghurst, Edgecliff and St Ives, all suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
, and later studied at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1883 and a Master of Arts in 1885. In 1887, Rich was admitted to the New South Wales Bar. Around this time he married Betha Bowker, with whom he would have two sons and a daughter.
Rich remained involved with the University of Sydney, founding the student magazine Hermes, the first publication by the University of Sydney Union
University of Sydney Union
The University of Sydney Union is the student-run services and amenities provider at the University of Sydney. The Union's key services include the provision of food and beverages, live music and other entertainment, the Verge Arts Festival and other cultural activities, Orientation week and...
, in 1886. He also started the boat club at the university, and in 1889, was among those who established The Women's College at the university. In his legal work, Rich was principally an equity specialist. From 1890 to 1910, Rich lectured in equity part-time at the University of Sydney's law school. He was also the co-author of the first New South Wales-specific textbook on equity practice. He was made a King's Counsel in 1911, and in the same year was appointed as an acting judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales
Supreme Court of New South Wales
The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales...
. He was made a full judge in 1912.
In 1913, Rich was appointed to the newly created seventh seat on the bench of the High Court of Australia
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
, taking up his seat on 5 April of that year. He was appointed following the resignation of Albert Piddington
Albert Piddington
Albert Bathurst Piddington was the shortest serving Justice of the High Court of Australia, never actually sitting at the bench. Appointed on 6 March 1913, he resigned on 5 April after opponents questioned his independence.-Early life:Piddington was born in 1862 in Bathurst, New South Wales...
, who never took up his seat on the High Court, and quit amidst a controversy over his appointment. There has been some suggestion that Rich was a "safe" choice, because of his uncontroversial and uncombative nature, but Rich's legal ability was rarely questioned.
Rich had a long career on the High Court, not retiring until 5 May 1950. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Rich's associate was Edward McTiernan
Edward McTiernan
Sir Edward Aloysius McTiernan, KBE , was an Australian jurist, lawyer and politician. He served as an Australian Labor Party member of both the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and federal House of Representatives before being appointed to the High Court of Australia in 1930...
, a future Justice of the High Court, and indeed a future colleague. Rich was also a judge of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration
Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration
The Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration is a defunct Australian court, which had jurisdiction to arbitrate interstate industrial disputes....
, from 1921 to 1922, and later in 1922 he served as Australia's delegate to the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
. He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
in 1932, and in 1936 was appointed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is one of the highest courts in the United Kingdom. Established by the Judicial Committee Act 1833 to hear appeals formerly heard by the King in Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is one of the highest courts in the United...
. From 1940 to 1941, Rich was acting Chief Justice of Australia
Chief Justice of Australia
The Chief Justice of Australia is the informal title for the presiding justice of the High Court of Australia and the highest-ranking judicial officer in the Commonwealth of Australia...
, while John Latham took leave to serve in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
as Australia's first Minister (Ambassador) to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Rich's judgments are generally considered to be clear and concise. Some commentators attribute this more to laziness than to a knack for clarity. It was often rumoured that fellow justice (and later Chief Justice
Chief Justice of Australia
The Chief Justice of Australia is the informal title for the presiding justice of the High Court of Australia and the highest-ranking judicial officer in the Commonwealth of Australia...
) Owen Dixon
Owen Dixon
Sir Owen Dixon, OM, GCMG, KC Australian judge and diplomat, was the sixth Chief Justice of Australia. A justice of the High Court for thirty-five years, Dixon was one of the leading jurists in the English-speaking world and is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever jurist.-Education:Dixon...
wrote many of Rich's judgments for him, and Dixon recorded in his papers that on one occasion (the case of Isaacs v McKinnon), in an appeal from the Federal Court of Bankruptcy, Rich's judgment was written by the judge whose decision was being appealed.
Rich, who retired at age 87, holds the record for being the oldest justice to sit on the bench of the High Court. This record will almost certainly not be broken, since High Court justices must retire at age 70
Australian referendum, 1977 (Retirement of Judges)
The legislation Constitution Alteration 1977 proposed to create a retirementage of 70 for judges in federal courts.The question was put to a referendum in the Australian referendum, 1977.-Results:...
. It is said that following the funeral of former justice Sir Isaac Isaacs
Isaac Isaacs
Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs GCB GCMG KC was an Australian judge and politician, was the third Chief Justice of Australia, ninth Governor-General of Australia and the first born in Australia to occupy that post. He is the only person ever to have held both positions of Chief Justice of Australia and...
in 1943, Hayden Starke
Hayden Starke
Sir Hayden Erskine Starke KCMG , an Australian judge, was a justice of the High Court of Australia.Starke was born in the town of Creswick, Victoria in 1871...
said to Rich (who at that stage was 80 years old) "George, are you sure it's worth your while going home?"
Rich retired on his eighty-seventh birthday in 1950. Geoffrey Sawer has suggested that Rich delayed his retirement until after the 1949 federal election
Australian federal election, 1949
Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 December 1949. All 121 seats in the House of Representatives, and 42 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, where the single transferable vote was introduced...
(at which the conservative Menzies government
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
came to power) in order to prevent the Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
Chifley government
Ben Chifley
Joseph Benedict Chifley , Australian politician, was the 16th Prime Minister of Australia. He took over the Australian Labor Party leadership and Prime Ministership after the death of John Curtin in 1945, and went on to retain government at the 1946 election, before being defeated at the 1949...
from being able to appoint a judge. Following his retirement, the members of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
elected Rich as an Honorary Master. Later that year, he married his second wife, Letitia Woodward (Betha had died in 1945). Rich died in 1956, at age 93. An obituary in the Australian Law Journal
Australian Law Journal
The Australian Law Journal is an Australian peer-reviewed law journal which has been publishing since 1927. Studies have found that it is one of the most cited Australian law journals....
described Rich as:
"...patient, helpful to counsel, wise in his sense of judgment and he had a rare but unobtrusive humour. His contribution as a Justice of the High Court to constitutional problems is by no means as insignificant as the brevity of many of his judgments might suggest, for he had the facility for expressing complex propositions in clear and succinct terms."