Richard Searby
Encyclopedia
Dr. Richard Henry Searby AO
QC
(b. 1931) is an Australia
n lawyer, company director and academic.
His father was Dr. Henry Searby, a founding member of the Royal Melbourne Hospital at Parkville and his mother, Mary Searby, was a philanthropist involved in community programs for the benefit of underprivileged people. He was born on 23 July 1931. His brother, Michael, held a doctorate in philosophy from Cambridge University and had a career as a director of companies.
He was educated first at home by his grandfather (a former headmaster of first, Essendon High School and subsequently Melbourne High School), and then at the Geelong Grammar School
, where he was a school prefect. He attended Melbourne University for one year before leaving to study classics (Ancient Greek and Roman History and Philosophy and Ancient Greek and Latin) at Oxford University. He was awarded a BA Lit Hum (Hons) and an MA from Oxford University in 1954 (as well as a sports blue for tennis) and was then admitted to the Inner Temple
. On his return to Australia, from 1956 until 1959, he was Associate to Sir Owen Dixon
, Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia
. He commenced practice at the Victorian Bar in 1959 and was appointed as a Queen’s Counsel in 1971.
His practice was in equity, commercial and company law, constitutional law, taxation, intellectual property, banking, media law, maritime law and trade practices law. He advised the Australian Government on various occasions and he appeared in constitutional cases for both the Australian and the Victorian governments as well as clients in the private sector. He also drafted amendments to Australian and Victorian legislation, including the Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Act and Victorian adoption legislation. His final court case was an in camera appearance with respect to the application of the Victorian Adoption law to IVF.
In 1981 he and former Commissioner JE Taylor prepared a report for the Australian Government into the workings of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act.
From 1977 to 1992 he was chairman of Rupert Murdoch
's News empire of media companies, including News Limited, News International and News Corporation. During that period he was involved in the purchase of "The Times" newspaper, the Hitler Diaries saga and the relocation of London-based newspaper infrastructure from Gray's Inn Road and Fleet Street to Wapping, which resulted in a year-long union protest. Rupert Murdoch was a childhood friend of Richard Searby's with whom he shared a study at the Geelong Grammar School and attended Oxford University.
From 1961 until 1972 he was Independent Lecturer in Law relating to Executors and Trustees and a member of the Faculty of Law at the University of Melbourne
where he lectured Mr. Barry Jones
AO, former Federal Labor Party politician and television quiz show "Pick a Box" champion.
In 2005, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Deakin University where he was Chancellor from 1997. He was awarded an Order of Australia in 2006 for his services to education, as a contributor to the programs of major cultural institutions, business and the law, the first of which formed a symbiosis with the vocation of his grandfather.
Richard Searby is married to Caroline McAdam with whom he has three sons, Charles, Patrick and James and has a female toy poodle called Hebe (after the Greek Goddess of Youth). Frequently and unaccountably, Hebe loses her temper and bites her master and mistress.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
(b. 1931) is an 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 lawyer, company director and academic.
His father was Dr. Henry Searby, a founding member of the Royal Melbourne Hospital at Parkville and his mother, Mary Searby, was a philanthropist involved in community programs for the benefit of underprivileged people. He was born on 23 July 1931. His brother, Michael, held a doctorate in philosophy from Cambridge University and had a career as a director of companies.
He was educated first at home by his grandfather (a former headmaster of first, Essendon High School and subsequently Melbourne High School), and then at the Geelong Grammar School
Geelong Grammar School
Geelong Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, co-educational, boarding and day school. The school's main campus is located at Corio, on the northern outskirts of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, overlooking Corio Bay and Limeburners Bay....
, where he was a school prefect. He attended Melbourne University for one year before leaving to study classics (Ancient Greek and Roman History and Philosophy and Ancient Greek and Latin) at Oxford University. He was awarded a BA Lit Hum (Hons) and an MA from Oxford University in 1954 (as well as a sports blue for tennis) and was then admitted to 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...
. On his return to Australia, from 1956 until 1959, he was Associate to Sir 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...
, Chief 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...
. He commenced practice at the Victorian Bar in 1959 and was appointed as a Queen’s Counsel in 1971.
His practice was in equity, commercial and company law, constitutional law, taxation, intellectual property, banking, media law, maritime law and trade practices law. He advised the Australian Government on various occasions and he appeared in constitutional cases for both the Australian and the Victorian governments as well as clients in the private sector. He also drafted amendments to Australian and Victorian legislation, including the Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Act and Victorian adoption legislation. His final court case was an in camera appearance with respect to the application of the Victorian Adoption law to IVF.
In 1981 he and former Commissioner JE Taylor prepared a report for the Australian Government into the workings of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act.
From 1977 to 1992 he was chairman of Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
's News empire of media companies, including News Limited, News International and News Corporation. During that period he was involved in the purchase of "The Times" newspaper, the Hitler Diaries saga and the relocation of London-based newspaper infrastructure from Gray's Inn Road and Fleet Street to Wapping, which resulted in a year-long union protest. Rupert Murdoch was a childhood friend of Richard Searby's with whom he shared a study at the Geelong Grammar School and attended Oxford University.
From 1961 until 1972 he was Independent Lecturer in Law relating to Executors and Trustees and a member of the Faculty of Law at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
where he lectured Mr. Barry Jones
Barry Jones (Australian politician)
Barry Owen Jones AO, FAA, FASSA, FAHA, FTSE, FACE is a writer, lawyer, social activist, quiz champion and former politician. He campaigned against the death penalty throughout the 1960s, particularly against the execution of Ronald Ryan, and remains against capital punishment...
AO, former Federal Labor Party politician and television quiz show "Pick a Box" champion.
In 2005, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Deakin University where he was Chancellor from 1997. He was awarded an Order of Australia in 2006 for his services to education, as a contributor to the programs of major cultural institutions, business and the law, the first of which formed a symbiosis with the vocation of his grandfather.
Richard Searby is married to Caroline McAdam with whom he has three sons, Charles, Patrick and James and has a female toy poodle called Hebe (after the Greek Goddess of Youth). Frequently and unaccountably, Hebe loses her temper and bites her master and mistress.
Positions of responsibility
Dr. Searby is a leading member of Australia’s legal fraternity and he has held a vast array of directorships of Australian and international corporations, including:- Chancellor of Deakin UniversityDeakin UniversityDeakin University is an Australian public university with nearly 40,000 higher education students in 2010. It receives more than A$600 million in operating revenue annually, and controls more than A$1.3 billion in assets. It received more than A$35 million in research income in 2009 and had 835...
from 1997 to 2005. - Director of Rio TintoRio Tinto GroupThe Rio Tinto Group is a diversified, British-Australian, multinational mining and resources group with headquarters in London and Melbourne. The company was founded in 1873, when a multinational consortium of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto river, in Huelva, Spain from the...
Ltd from 1977 until 1997 and a director of Rio Tinto PLC from 1995 until 1997. - Director of News Corporation Ltd from 1979 until 1992 and Chairman from 1981 until 1991; a director of News Ltd from 1977 until 1992 and Chairman from 1981 until 1992; a director of News International PLC (UK) from 1981 until 1992 and Chairman from 1983 until 1990
- Chairman of the Geelong Grammar SchoolGeelong Grammar SchoolGeelong Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, co-educational, boarding and day school. The school's main campus is located at Corio, on the northern outskirts of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, overlooking Corio Bay and Limeburners Bay....
Council from 1983 until 1989. - Director of the South China Morning PostSouth China Morning PostThe South China Morning Post , together with its Sunday edition, the Sunday Morning Post, is an English-language Hong Kong newspaper, published by the SCMP Group with a circulation of 104,000....
Ltd (HK) from 1986 until 1992, and Chairman from 1987 until 1992. - Director of News Datacom Ltd (UK) from 1987 until 1992 and Chairman from 1987 until 1992.
- Director of Shell AustraliaRoyal Dutch ShellRoyal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
Ltd from 1977 until 1998; a director of the Shell Australia Superannuation Fund Pty Ltd from 1993 until 1998. - National President of the Australian Institute of International AffairsAustralian Institute of International AffairsThe Australian Institute of International Affairs is a non-profit think tank based in Australia. Established in 1924 and formed as a national body in 1933, the organisation endeavours to promote interest in and understanding of international affairs...
from 1993 until 1997. - Director of BRL Hardy Ltd from 1992 until 2003.
- Director of Amrad Corporation Ltd from 1993 until 2003.
- Director of QuadrantQuadrant (magazine)Quadrant is an Australian literary and cultural journal. The magazine takes a conservative position on political and social issues, describing itself as sceptical of 'unthinking Leftism, or political correctness, and its "smelly little orthodoxies"'. Quadrant reviews literature, as well as...
Inc from 1987 until 2003. - Director of Tandem Australia Pty Ltd from 1992 until 1998.
- Director and Deputy Chairman of TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
Newspapers Holdings Ltd (UK) since 1981. - Director of ReutersReutersReuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
Founders Share Co Ltd (UK) from 1987 until 1993. - Director of Woodside PetroleumWoodside PetroleumWoodside Petroleum Limited is an Australian petroleum exploration and production company. It is a public company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and has its headquarters in Perth, Western Australia.-History:...
Ltd from 1998 until 2004. - Member of the Council of the National Library of AustraliaNational Library of AustraliaThe National Library of Australia is the largest reference library of Australia, responsible under the terms of the National Library Act for "maintaining and developing a national collection of library material, including a comprehensive collection of library material relating to Australia and the...
from 1992 until 1995. - Member of the Council of the Museum of Victoria from 1990 until 1998.