Francis Gerard Brennan AC KBE (1928 - 2022)

Born 22 May 1928 in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia

Ancestors

Died 1 Jun 2022 at age 94 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Gerard Brennan AC KBE is Notable.

Judge Sir (Francis) Gerard Brennan AC KBE GBS QC was an Australian lawyer and jurist who served as the Chief Justice of Australia. As a judge in the High Court of Australia, he wrote the lead judgement on the Mabo decision, which gave rise to the Native Title Act.

Gerard Brennan AC KBE was born in Queensland, Australia

Gerard Brennan AC KBE has Irish ancestors.

Francis Gerard Brennan was born on 22nd May 1928 in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia. Gerard, as he was known, was the eldest of three children of Frank Tenison Brennan, a Labor Party politician, lawyer and judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland, and Hannah Koenig. He was raised as, and continued to be, a practising Catholic. He attended Christian Brothers Rockhampton and then Downlands College, Toowoomba, after which he entered the University of Queensland to study law. ^[1]

Gerard was a Solicitor, Barrister and Judge

Upon graduation, Gerard was called to the Queensland Bar in 1951 and developed wide-ranging legal experience as a barrister in both criminal and civil law. He became a Queen's Counsel (QC) in 1956. ^[1]

Francis married Patricia O'Hara, a medical graduate, in 1953. The couple subsequently had seven children between 1954 and 1962: Frank, Madeline, Anne, Thomas, Margaret, Paul, and Bernadette. ^[1]

Gerard was elected president of the Queensland Bar Association in 1974 and president of the Australian Bar Association a year later. He was appointed to the Australian Law Reform Commission in 1975, and as a judge of the Australian Industrial Court, the first President of the Commonwealth Administrative Appeals Tribunal in 1976. ^[1]

On 3rd April 1981, Gerard was created Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) as a Justice of the High Court of Australia. ^[2] In the Australia Day Honours 1988, he was appointed Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) 'in recognition of his service to the law'. ^[3]

As a High Court judge, Gerard wrote the lead judgement on the Mabo decision, which overturned the doctrine of terra nullius used to justify the Crown's sovereignty over Australia, replacing it with the doctrine of native title, and thus protecting Aboriginal people's claims to land. This decision eventually gave rise to the Native Title Act. ^[1]

He was appointed the 10th Chief Justice of Australia on 21st April 1995, drawing on his Christian faith when he said that the person taking the oath would be 'responsible not only to this court and this country but also his creator'. In his chambers was a portrait of Sir Thomas More, the 16th-century churchman who defied Henry VIII over the principles of marriage and divorce, More going to his execution stating that his ultimate allegiance was to God. ^[1]

Following his retirement from the High Court, Gerard was a non-permanent judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (2000-12) and an external judge of the Supreme Court of Fiji (1999-2000), chancellor of the University of Technology, Sydney (1998-2004) and Foundation Scientia Professor of Law at the University of New South Wales (1998). He was an honorary visiting professor of law at the University of New South Wales. He served as chancellor of the University of Technology, Sydney, from 1998 to 2004. ^[1]

Other honours bestowed upon Gerard included: ^[1]

• honorary degrees by the University of Melbourne (Hon. LL.D.), the University of Technology, Sydney (Hon. LL.D.), the University of Queensland (Hon. LL.D.), Griffith University (Hon. D.Univ.), Central Queensland University (Hon. D.Litt.), Trinity College Dublin (Hon. LL.D.) and the Australian Catholic University (Hon LL.D)
• life fellow of the Australian Academy of Law
• Gold Bauhinia Star (GBS), awarded by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong

On 1st January 2001 he was awarded the Centenary Medal. ^[4]

Aged 94 years and having been widowed for three years, he passed away on 1st June 2022 in Sydney, New South Wales. He was survived by his seven children – including son Father Frank Brennan, who became a prominent Jesuit, lawyer and strong social justice advocate, and two others who became QCs – 21 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren. ^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8} Brown, Malcolm. 'Judge who abolished notion of terra nullius was a dedicated advocate for human rights.' Sydney Morning Herald, 2 Jun 2022; accessed 22 Mar 2024
2. ↑ Australian Honours: KCMG; accessed 22 Mar 2024
3. ↑ Australian Honours: AC; accessed 22 Mar 2024
4. ↑ Australian Honours: Centenary Medal; accessed 22 Mar 2024

See also:

• Wikipedia: Gerard Brennan; accessed 22 Mar 2024.