Three Law Deans — and what they Teach of Deanship
| Author | Michael Kirby |
| DOI | 10.22145/flr.42.3.7 |
| Published date | 01 September 2014 |
| Date | 01 September 2014 |
THREE LAW DEANS — AND WHAT THEY TEACH OF
DEANSHIP
The Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG
∗
ABSTRACT
In this article, the author honours three former Deans of Law of The Australia n National
University: Jack Richardson, Harry Whitmore, and Michael Coper. His remarks are
derivedfrom three speeches he gave in 2012: the 2012 Harry Whitmore Memorial
Lecture,1the 2012 Jack Richardson Memorial Lecture,2and anaddress to The Australian
National University’s2012 Law Alumni Dinner on the occasion of the retirement from
the Deanship of Michael Coper.3Jack Richardson and Harry Whitmore were pioneers
of Australian administrative law. Michael Coper, a constitutional lawyer whose views
were shaped by his family’s direct experience of Nazism, served as Dean for a record
term of 15 years. The authorreflects on the life stories of these three Law Deans, and
derives some conclusions on the nature of the office of Dean of Law in a modern
Australian University.4
∗Justice of the High Court of Australia (1996-2009). Distinguished Visiting Fellow (ANU);
Hon. LL.D (ANU).
1 Michael Kirby, ‘The Reasons for Administrative Reasons: Osmondrevisited’(Speech
delivered at theCouncil of Australasian Tribunals 2012 Harry Whitmore Memorial Lecture,
Federal Court of Australia, Sydney,3 May 2012).
2 Michael Kirby, ‘Jack Richardson: The First and Perfect Ombudsman’ (Speech delivered at
the Australian Corporate Lawyers’ Association and DLA Piper Lawyers 2012 Jack
Richardson Memorial Lecture, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, 12 September 2012).
3 Michael Kirby, ‘Michael Coper, Law and Transition’ (Speech delivered at The Australian
National University Law Alumni Dinner Address 2012, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra,
20 November 2012). The first two of these three speeches may be found at
www.michaelkirby.com.au/images/stories/speeches/2000s/2012.
4There have of course been many other eminent ANU Law Deans, including Harold Ford,
Patrick Atiyah, Leslie Zines, Douglas Whalan, Don Greig, David Hambly, Dennis Pearce,
and Tom Campbell. It is hoped that, in the future, tributes tothem andother leading legal
scholars will be published.
______________________________________________________________________
590Federal Law ReviewVolume 42
_____________________________________________________________________________________
IJACK RICHARDSON (DEAN 1961-66, 1968-70)
Jack Richardson was born on 24 September 1920 in Geelong,
Victoria. He attended the Camperdown State School and
Geelong College, from wherehe proceeded to the University
of Melbourne.
The advent of the Second World War, and the peril then
facing Australia, led Richardsonto interrupt his studies.He
enlisted and served in the AIF.He returned after
demobilisation to complete his undergraduate studiesin
law. Eventually, he was to graduate Master of Laws from
both the University of Melbourne and McGill University in
Canada.He was attracted to McGill because of its Institute of Air and Space Law.He
was to be one of the first Australian lawyers to display along-lastinginterest in this
specialised field of study.
This interest, in turn, derived from the direction that Richardson’scareer had taken
in the law.In 1949, he left Melbourne and proceeded to Canberra where he was engaged
bythe Commonwealth public service.He commenced duties as an officer in the
Attorney-General’s Department in Canberra.In 1952 he was seconded to work as a
member of the legal committee of t he International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
He held this position until 1957.It was whilst so engaged that he married Grace Snook
in March 1955. They were to raise three children: two daughters and a son.
Jack Richardson’s experie nce as an officer of the Commonwealth continued. He was
seconded to be the Legal Secretary of the Constitution Review Committee of the Federal
Parliament, serving in that office from 1956 to 1959. Thecommittee made a number of
proposals for the modernis ation of the Australian Constitution. One of these involved the
repeal of section 127 of the Constitution. That sectionprovided for the exclusion of
Aboriginals from the national census. Ja ck Richardson wrote the report, adopted by the
committee, favouring repeal.That report, in turn, became the basis of the proposal for a
constitutional amendment.5 That proposal was enacted on 27 May 1967 in accordance
with section 128 of the Constitution. It was carried in every state and the na tional vote in
favour was 89.34% of the valid votes, with only 9.08% against.To this extent, Jack
Richardson was directly i nvolved in one of only eight constitutional re ferendums in the
history of the Australian Com monwealth that have succeeded.6
At this point in his career, it appeared that thestillyoung Mr Richardson had a
lifetime of service in front of him as a legal advisor of, and participantin, federal
institutions.His acquaintance with a successful referendum made him something of an
expert in that comparatively untilled c onstitutional field.7However, this was not to be.
In 1961, the new Faculty of Law inThe Australian National University was looking for
5 Constitutional Alteration (Aboriginals) 1967(Cth).See AR Blackshield and G Williams,
Australian Constitutional Law and Theory(FederationPress, 3rded,2002) 1306.
6 The proposal achieved amendments to s 51 (xxvi) of the Constitutionas well as deleting s127.
7 Cf JE Richardson, ‘Reform of the Constitution: The Referendums and Constitutional
Convention‘ in G J Evans (ed), Labor and the Constitution 1972-5 (Heinemann, 1977), 76.
______________________________________________________________________
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