Garfield Barwick

Sir Garfield Edward John Barwick (22 June 1903 – 13 July 1997) was an Australian judge who was the seventh and longest serving Chief Justice of Australia, in office from 1964 to 1981.

He was called to the bar in 1927 and became one of Australia's most prominent barristers, appearing in many high-profile cases and frequently before the High Court.

He served terms as president of the NSW Bar Association and the Law Council of Australia.

Nevertheless, he practised as a barrister from 1927 in many jurisdictions, achieving considerable recognition and the reluctant respect of opponents.

At the beginning of World War 2, Barwick's challenges to the National Security Act 1939, which centralised the power to the Australian government, propelled him to the front rank of the Bar.

He became publicly prominent in the 1943 case over the artistic merits of William Dobell's Archibald Prize-winning portrait of the painter Joshua Smith; a losing entrant claimed the picture was caricature, not portraiture.

Barwick represented the plaintiff, and although they lost, the judges commended him for the brilliance of his arguments and his name became well known from that point onwards.

Having been briefed in many of Australia's defining constitutional cases (e.g., the Airlines case, and the Bank Nationalisation case), he was knighted in 1953.

A famous example of his astute advocacy involved thirteen Malaysians sentenced to death who appealed to the Privy Council.

Twelve retained Barwick, who duly found a technical deficiency in the arrest warrants and secured their freedom.

The last, whose counsel was not so thorough, was hanged.

He had earlier been a Liberal Party politician, serving as a minister in the Menzies government from 1958 to 1964.

Barwick was born in Sydney, and attended Fort Street High School before going on to study law at the University of Sydney.

Barwick entered politics only at the age of 54, winning election to the House of Representatives at the 1958 Parramatta by-election.

A member of the Liberal Party, Barwick was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1958 Parramatta by-election, beginning his parliamentary career at the relatively late age of 54.

He was re-elected in the general elections of 1958, 1961, and 1963.

After the 1958 election, Barwick was promoted to cabinet as Attorney-General, replacing the retiring Neil O'Sullivan.

In that position, he guided through legislation amending the Matrimonial Causes Act and the Crimes Act, and established a model for restrictive trade practices legislation.

He also gained public notice for his role in the case of an alleged Estonian war criminal, Ervin Viks, who had settled in Australia and was being pursued by the Soviet Union.

Barwick refused to accept the USSR's extradition request, as there was no extradition treaty between the two countries; Viks had passed immigration screening processes and it was argued any such extradition would undermine Australian sovereignty.

There were reports that he was reduced to tears by a vitriolic debate over what became the Crimes Act 1959, which he later confirmed had been accurate.

In retirement, Menzies said that he "didn't understand parliament [...] he was a disappointing politician".

Prime Minister Robert Menzies made him Attorney-General by the end of the year, and in 1961 he was additionally made Minister for External Affairs.

After the 1961 election, Barwick was additionally made Minister for External Affairs.

In 1964, Menzies nominated Barwick as his choice to replace the retiring Owen Dixon as Chief Justice.

Over the next 17 years, the Barwick court decided many significant constitutional cases, including a significant broadening of the corporations power and several cases regarding the constitutional basis of taxation.

Barwick also played a small but significant role in the 1975 constitutional crisis, advising Governor-General John Kerr that it was within his powers to dismiss Prime Minister Gough Whitlam from office.

He retired from the court at the age of 77, but remained a public figure until his death at the age of 94.

Outside of his professional career, he also served as the inaugural president of the Australian Conservation Foundation.

Barwick was one of three brothers born to Methodist parents, of Cornish origin; he was later very insistent on his Cornish identity.

He was raised in Stanmore, an inner-city suburb of Sydney, and attended Fort Street High School.

He graduated from the University of Sydney with a University Medal in law.

A very diligent student, Barwick was admitted to legal practice soon after finishing university, although (on his own later admission) he suffered severely in financial terms during the Great Depression.

He was guarantor for a bank loan to his younger brother to operate a service station in Ashfield, but was unable to repay the bank when the loan was forfeited, and was made bankrupt after he sued the oil companies for defamation.

This was held against him by many throughout his career.

He led the Australian delegation to the General Assembly of the United Nations for its 15th, 17th, and 18th sessions.

For some time, Barwick was seen as a likely successor to Robert Menzies as Liberal leader and prime minister.

When the news broke that he was entering parliament, Frank Browne confidently wrote:

"For Harold Holt, it means no leadership. For the New South Wales Cabinet aspirants it means no Cabinet. All in all, to the Liberal Federal politicians, the entry of Sir Garfield Barwick means exactly what the acquisition of a Derby winner means to the other stallions in the stud. Prosperity in the stud, but the first step towards the boiling down of the other stallions."

However, Barwick struggled to adapt to the cut and thrust of political life.