She was once NSW solicitor-general and the first chair of the NSW Legal Services Commission
Mary Gaudron KC, the first female justice to join the High Court bench, has died at the age of 83 from what NSW chief justice Andrew Bell AC described as “a mercifully short illness”.
Gaudron’s passing was announced yesterday 13 September. The High Court highlighted her as someone who “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 High Court said in a statement.
Gaudron was appointed to the High Court in 1987 at the age of 44 and remained with the court until she retired in 2003. According to the Victorian government, she was passed over for appointment as High Court chief justice in March 1998 – a position that traditionally went to the next most senior judge except when politics were a factor.
She held many illustrious roles throughout her career; she served as NSW solicitor-general from 1981 to 1987 and was the first NSW Legal Services Commissioner chair, a role she held from 1979 to 1980. Moreover, she was deputy president of the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission from 1974 to 1980 – at the time, she was the youngest federal judge, according to the Queensland Law Society.
Gaudron was also the first woman to be named to the NSW Bar Council. After departing the High Court, she joined the International Labour Organisation’s Administrative Tribunal, where she remained until 2012.
In 1973, she appeared before the Arbitration Commission and won an equal pay case. She was also on the full bench that issued the landmark 1993 Mabo v Queensland ruling; in addition, she was involved in the 1996 Wik judgment on indigenous land rights and the 1997 Croome ruling on the decriminalisation of homosexuality.
Gaudron commenced with the Commonwealth Public Service after obtaining her law degree but had to resign after getting married per the rules of that era. She was also told that some firms did not bring in women as articled clerks.
Attorney-general Michelle Rowland described Gaudron as a “trailblazer of remarkable intellect who helped reshape the legal profession in Australia”.
“Justice Gaudron broke barriers at every stage of an extraordinary legal career, and we will remember her contributions for decades to come”, Rowland said in a statement.
Bell lauded Gaudron as a “a very fine and important Australian”.
“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”, Bell said in a statement.
Governor-general Sam Mostyn highlighted Gaudron’s legacy.
“From her upbringing in Moree NSW to her advocacy for equal pay and her distinguished service on the nation’s highest court, Justice Gaudron brought her fierce intellect, integrity, compassion and a deep commitment to justice to every role she held. Her legacy endures in the Australian legal system and in the many people who continue to follow the path she helped forge”, Mostyn said in a statement.
The High Court said it would conduct a ceremonial sitting of the court in Gaudron’s honour. The court will confirm the sitting date.
