Leslie James Herron KBE CMG KC (1902 - 1973)

Born 22 May 1902 in Mosman, New South Wales, Australia

Husband of Andree Lorna (Le Verrier) Herron — married 6 Jan 1930 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Died 3 May 1973 at age 70 in Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Leslie Herron KBE CMG KC is Notable.

Leslie Herron KBE CMG KC was born in New South Wales, Australia

Leslie James Herron was born on 22nd May 1902 in Mosman, New South Wales, Australia. He was the second of six children of Henry Herron and Emily Downie. ^[1] He attended the Mosman Church of England Preparatory School and Sydney Grammar School. He played first grade Rugby Union from 1922 to 1925 with the Western Suburbs Football Club.

Leslie was a Barrister and a Judge

He entered the University of Sydney, graduating Bachelor of Law (LLB) in 1924. Admitted to the New South Wales bar on 28th August 1925, Leslie practiced in common law on the Northern Circuit of New South Wales.

Leslie married Andree Le Verrier on 6th January 1930 in St James' Anglican Church, Sydney. ^[2] The couple initially made their home at Wollstonecraft, until building a home at Castle Cove in 1960.

Leslie was appointed an acting judge of the District Court of New South Wales in February 1939. He took silk as a King's Counsel (KC) in December 1939. In February 1941, he was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, the State's highest court. From 1962 until his retirement ten years later he was Chief Justice of New South Wales.

Intensively involved in sport administration, Leslie served several sports, and at the top echelon:

• president of the Australian Golf Club, 1944-73
• president of the New South Wales Rugby Union, 1943-56
• inaugural chairman of the Australian Rugby Football Union from 1949
• chairman of the International Rugby Football Board, London, 1957
• president of the New South Wales Amateur Swimming Association, 1949-64
• chairman of the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust, 1970-72

He also found time to support many community organisations:

• founding vice-president of Australian Neurological Foundation (now called the Brain Foundation), 1970
• involved with fundraising for St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, the Mater Misericordiae Hospital, North Sydney, the National Heart Foundation, the Freedom from Hunger Campaign, the Central Methodist Mission, the Salvation Army and the Bush Children's Hostels Foundation of New South Wales
• president of the New South Wales branch of the St John Ambulance Association
• member of the New South Wales Olympic Council

Leslie was deservedly recognised through several honours and awards:

• appointed Knight of the Order of St John (KStJ) in 1964 for his work in the St John Ambulance
• named Father of the Year by the Australian Father's Day Council in 1963
• appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the Queen's Birthday Honours 1964 for his service as Chief Justice of New South Wales ^[3]
• created Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the New Year Honours 1966 ^[4]
• honorary Doctor of Law (LLD) by the University of New South Wales in 1972

Upon attaining the mandatory retirement age for judges in May 1972, Leslie remarked that he had reached 'the age of statutory senility' as he was 'no longer considered competent to work as a judge'.

Sir Leslie was appointed Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales on 11th April 1973 whilst Sir Roden Cutler was visiting the United Kingdom, continuing to administer the government until his death. ^[5]

Aged almost 71 years, he passed away of acute leukaemia on 3rd May 1973 in St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst. ^[6] He was survived by both his wife and daughter.

Sources

1. ↑ New South Wales Birth Index #23933/1902
2. ↑ New South Wales Marriage Index #273/1930
3. ↑ Australian Honours: CMG; accessed 7 Nov 2023
4. ↑ Australian Honours: KBE; accessed 7 Nov 2023
5. ↑ Parliament of New South Wales: Succession of Governors of New South Wales; accessed 7 Nov 2023
6. ↑ New South Wales Death Index #2505/1973; registered at Sydney

See also

• Rutledge, Martha. 'Herron, Sir Leslie James (1902–1973)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1996; accessed online 7 Nov 2023.
• Wikipedia: Leslie Herron; accessed 7 Nov 2023.