Noted Judge

Manawatu Times, Volume 61, Issue 189, 12 August 1936, Page 8

Noted Judge

DEATH IN MELBOURNE

Less than a year ago Sir Frank Gavan Duffy, then in his 84th year, was Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia. He retired in September with a merry quip addressed to those who considered he should havo done so at least a decade earlier, and there is general regret that his death at his home in Melbourne should have followed so swiftly, for his retirement tvas not forced by ill-health and several years of pleasant leisure appeared to lie before him. Sir Frank was a genial gentleman and a noted wit. A few weeks after his retirement he was the chief guest at the dinner connected with the holding of the first Australian legal convention. His lively interjections during the speech-making added much to the gaiety of the gathering. ‘‘Why do they hate the Judges so?” ho asked, when commenting on bantering criticism by members of the Bar. "1 can speak impartially, for lam no longer a Judge, but when I was I was well worthy of admiration.” But a wistful note crept into his speech when he said that he belonged to the "noble order of Has Beens," an order which all would reach if they lived long enough. Concluding a memorable speech, Sir Frank referred to the beauty of a great city illuminated by electric lights. ‘‘But,” he added, "those who riseearly enough or stay out late enough have seen those comfortable lights put out by the rising sun. Gentlemen, I am an electric light. Would to God I was a rising sun.” Son of a Premier. Born in Dublin en Leap Year Day, 1852, Sir Frank came to Victoria three years later. Ilis father, Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, was Premier of the State for two years in the ’seventies. Sir Frank returned to the Old World when aged 13 years to be educated at Stoneyhurst, the famous Roman Catholic school in Lancashire. He was admitted to the Bar in 1884. One incident in his early career is proudly remembered by his friends as illustrating the standard of honour and probity which always characterised him. In tho crash which followed the laud boom he, likely many others of the period, was heavily involved. Ho w r as hopelessly bankrupt and ho had to seek temporary relief from the Court. Ho was given a clear discharge, but ho refused so to regard the position. Ho never lost sight of his obligations, and, as a result of about 20 years of patient endeavour, he paid the last penny of debts which had amounted to. thousands of pounds.

Son Also on Bench. Distinction at the Bar led to Sir Frank taking silk in 1900. For years ho and his great rival, Mr J. L. Purves, wero the only King’s Counsel at the Melbourne Bar, and when Mr. Purves died Sir Frank was left as the solitary K.C. His rapid grasp of law, as well as of questions of fact, was remarkable, and to this he added painstaking study. "With a pencil to give point to his argument and a merry twinkle in his eyes, he could iu the most gentlemanly manner make a witness feel that his armour had been pierced. For many years Sir Frank edited the Victorian Law Reports, and in association with the late Justice Higgins he produced a valuable work on “Insolvency.” In lighter vein Sir Frank wrote "A Dream of Fair Judges,” a verse parody which is still remembered and is often quoted at gatherings of lawyers. He was elevated to the High Court Bench in 1913 and was knighted in 1929. Ho was senior puisne Judge when Sir Asaac Isaacs was Chief Justice, and, when the latter became the first Australian Governor-General five years ago, Sir Frank was appointed Chief Justice. A son of Sir Frank is Mr. Justice Charles Gavan Duffy, of the Victorian Supreme Court Bench. Father and son spent their last summer vacation in New Zealand.