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The legal profession, cabinet ministers, and the Governor-General have paid tribute to the Honourable Mary Gaudron KC, the first woman appointed to the High Court of Australia, who passed away last weekend at the age of 83.
The Honourable Mary Gaudron KC, who served as a justice of the High Court from 1987 to 2003, has passed away. She was the first woman to be appointed to the court, and the only one in the court’s first 100 years.
Born in rural NSW in 1943, Gaudron’s interest in the law came very early on. At the age of eight, she requested in writing, and received, her first copy of the Constitution, from Dr Herbert ‘Doc’ Evatt, the then-leader of the federal Labor Party, who had also served as a justice of the High Court.
Having a pocket-sized copy of the Constitution on hand appears to have been a career-long habit, with NSW Chief Justice Andrew Bell noting he well remembers her having it “with her at all times on the High Court bench”.
Gaudron came up in a conservative, male-dominated legal profession, and – as reported widely in the wake of her passing – was motivated throughout her career to challenge discrimination and inequality.
In an address to the Women Lawyers Association of South Australia in 2005, she opined that the rule of law requires that basic human rights be protected by impartial and independent tribunals or courts.
However, she added, “there will always be those who, by virtue of their superior social, economic or political power, can and will deny or trample on the rights of others. It takes very little imagination to appreciate what abuses can and do occur in those countries where there is no rule of law or where, to any extent, the rule of law is abrogated in the name of some supposedly greater good”.
Gaudron graduated from the University of Sydney with a bachelor of arts in 1962 and a bachelor of laws in 1965. She was called to the Bar in 1968, and in 1972, became the first woman to be appointed to the council of the NSW Bar. She was then appointed as a QC in 1981.
She also served as the deputy president of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, chair of the NSW Legal Services Commission, and NSW Solicitor-General.
In February 1987, Prime Minister Bob Hawke appointed the 44-year-old Gaudron to the High Court, making her the fourth-youngest High Court justice at the time of her ascension to the bench. She served for 16 years, until her retirement.
As a justice of the High Court, she contributed to numerous landmark cases that helped shape Australian law, including the monumental native title cases Mabo and Wik, and Australian Capital Television Pty Ltd v Commonwealth, which established an implied freedom of political communication.
What is perhaps most striking about her career is how, as Attorney-General Michelle Rowland wrote on Instagram, Gaudron’s was “defined by a series of firsts”, having been the first woman in NSW to take silk, the first to serve as the state’s S-G, and then of course being the first woman on the bench of the nation’s highest court.
“Justice Gaudron was a trailblazer of remarkable intellect who helped reshape the legal profession in Australia [and] broke barriers at every stage of an extraordinary legal career, and we will remember her contributions for decades to come,” the A-G said.
By being the first on so many occasions, Governor-General Sam Mostyn said, Gaudron “broke new ground and inspired generations of Australians to pursue careers in the law and public service”. She brought her “fierce intellect, integrity, compassion and a deep commitment to justice to every role she held”, the G-G continued, and her legacy “endures in the Australian legal system and in the many people who continue to follow the path she helped forge”.
In a joint statement, the full bench of the High Court of Australia said: “Throughout her distinguished career, Ms Gaudron advanced the role of women in the legal profession and in the judiciary by her advocacy as well as her example. As a justice of the High Court for 16 years, her impact on its institutional character and contribution to its work were profound.
“The justices of the court extend their sincere sympathies to Ms Gaudron’s family. A ceremonial sitting of the court to honour her will be held on a date to be advised by the court.”
NSW Chief Justice Andrew Bell said that Gaudron served the High Court with great distinction: “She was straight talking and clear thinking, a wonderful raconteur and much loved especially by a long line of associates who have gone on to have distinguished careers both at the Bar and on the bench. She was a very fine and important Australian.”
The Law Society of South Australia called Gaudron a “pioneering jurist”, whose intellect, courage and commitment to justice helped shape the Australian legal landscape, with her advancement of key constitutional principles, and reflection of contemporary Australian values.
SA Law Society president David Colovic said that Gaudron made an enduring contribution to public life through her advocacy for equality, her service to the legal profession and her role as a trailblazer for women in law”.
Minister for Social Services Tanya Plibersek also paid tribute to Gaudron, posting on Instagram that she “changed Australia’s legal landscape”.
“She fought for equal pay, broke down barriers for women in law … her intellect and courage made our country fairer,” she said.
For her part, Gaudron concluded her address to the Women Lawyers Association of SA, just over a decade ago, by reflecting that “it has been my privilege to be a bit player – that’s all I’ve ever been, in the maintenance of the rule of law in Australia”.
