Mary Genevieve Gaudron, born January 5, 1943, is an Australian jurist who became the first female Justice of the High Court of Australia, serving from February 6, 1987, to January 31, 2003. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1962 and a Bachelor of Laws with first-class honors in 1965, both from the University of Sydney, and before her High Court appointment she served as Solicitor-General of New South Wales from 1981 to 1987, becoming the first woman to hold a solicitor-general post in any Australian jurisdiction. Prime Minister Bob Hawke nominated her for the High Court and Governor-General Ninian Stephen appointed her at age forty-four, making her the fourth-youngest justice in the court's history. After retiring from the High Court in 2003 she joined the International Labour Organization in Geneva, later serving as president of its Administrative Tribunal from 2011 to 2014.
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What led Mary Gaudron to want to become a barrister?
A childhood exchange with H. V. Evatt in Moree, who sent her a copy of the Constitution, and a local solicitor telling her she was aiming too high.
Mary Gaudron grew up in Moree, New South Wales, in a working class railway community. As a child she heard H. V. Evatt campaigning in Moree in 1951, put her hand up from the crowd and asked him what a constitution was. Evatt afterwards sent her a copy of the Constitution, and she told her schoolmates she would be a lawyer, and not just a lawyer but a barrister. When a local solicitor said she was aiming too high, she set out to prove him wrong. She went on to become the first female justice of the High Court of Australia.
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1. Mary Gaudron (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIntroduction, gender
She was the Solicitor-General of New South Wales from 1981 to 1987 before her appointment to the High Court.
Introduction
Mary Genevieve Gaudron (5 January 1943 - 13 September 2026) was an Australian lawyer and judge who was the first female Justice of the High Court of Australia. She was the Solicitor-General of New South Wales from 1981 to 1987 before her appointment to the High Court.
Introduction
Mary Genevieve Gaudron (5 January 1943 - 13 September 2026) was an Australian lawyer and judge who was the first female Justice of the High Court of Australia.
Full article, field of law
As a High Court Justice, Gaudron contributed to every area of Australian law, most notably to Australian criminal law, in judgments that "combine technical mastery with a general tendency to insist on strict compliance by trial judges with their obligations in directing juries".
In Legal System: Australian Law, Wikipedia lead sentence
was an Australian lawyer and judge who was the first fema
View the Source 2. Wikidata: Mary Gaudron
Wikidata Q15527343, P569 date of birth claim (year)
P569 (date of birth): 1943
Wikidata Q15527343, P569 date of birth claim (full date)
P569 (date of birth): 1943-01-05
Wikidata Q15527343, P570 date of death claim (year)
P570 (date of death): 2026
Wikidata Q15527343, P570 date of death claim (full date)
P570 (date of death): 2026-09-13
Wikidata Q15527343, P19 place of birth claim
P19 (place of birth): Moree
Wikidata Q15527343, P1477 birth name claim
P1477 (birth name): Mary Genevieve Gaudron
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