Australia’s first female High Court judge, Mary Gaudron, has died at the age of 83.
Ms Gaudron’s death was announced on Sunday, prompting tributes from acorss Australia’s legal and political landscape to a woman whose career helped transform the country’s judiciary and legal profession.
Born in Moree, NSW, in 1943 to working-class parents, Ms Gaudron grew up witnessing discrimination against Aboriginal Australians. Those experiences would contribute to a lifelong commitment to equality and social justice.
After studying law at Sydney University on a scholarship and initially practising primarily in defamation and industrial law, she became the first woman appointed to the NSW Bar Council in 1972.
In 1987, at the age of 44, she made Australian legal history when she was appointed to the High Court of Australia. She served on the nation’s highest court for 16 years, until her retirement in 2003.
Following her retirement from the High Court, Ms Gaudron continued her international legal work through the International Labour Organization’s Administrative Tribunal, where she served until 2012.
In 2000, she laid bare what she believed were the true views of some powerful men on women’s equality.
“There are, I think, people who do not accept that men and women are equal, who do not think of equality as a good thing and, indeed, who actually fear the equal participation of women in the workplace,” she said.
In the wake of Ms Gaudron’s death, Governor-General Sam Mostyn said her legacy endured in the many people who continued to follow the path she helped forge.
“As the first woman appointed to the High Court of Australia, and the only woman justice in the court’s first century, she broke new ground and inspired generations of Australians to pursue careers in the law and public service,” Ms Mostyn said in a social media post on Sunday.
“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.”
The Law Society of South Australia said Ms Gaudron’s intellect, courage and commitment to justice helped shape the Australian legal landscape.
“Justice Gaudron made an enduring contribution to public life through her advocacy for equality, her service to the legal profession and her role as a trailblazer for women in law,” Law Society president David Colovic said.
– with AAP
