John Latham (judge)
Robert Best | |
---|---|
Succeeded by | Robert Menzies |
Personal details | |
Born | John Greig Latham 26 August 1877 (1931–1934) |
Spouse |
Ella Tobin (m. 1907) |
Education | Scotch College |
Alma mater | University of Melbourne |
Sir John Greig Latham
Latham was born in
In 1931, Latham led the Nationalists into the new
Early life
Latham was born on 26 August 1877 in
Latham's father was a tinsmith by profession, but "preferred benevolent work over a comfortable salary" and became a long-serving secretary of the Victorian Society for the Protection of Animals.[4] The family moved to Ivanhoe in Melbourne's eastern suburbs shortly after Latham's birth.[1] His father was also a justice of the peace and served on the Heidelberg Town Council in later life.[4] Latham began his education at the George Street State School in Fitzroy. He subsequently won a scholarship to attend Scotch College, Melbourne, and went on to graduate Bachelor of Arts from the University of Melbourne in 1896.[1]
After completing his undergraduate degree, Latham spent two years as a schoolteacher at a private academy in Hamilton, Victoria. He returned to the University of Melbourne to study law in 1899, where he also tutored in philosophy and logic at Ormond College. He was admitted to the Victorian Bar in 1904 but struggled for briefs in his first years as a barrister and primarily worked in the Court of Petty Sessions and County Court.[1]
In 1907, Latham played a key role in establishing the Education Act Defence League, a rationalist organisation aimed at upholding the secular provisions of the Education Act 1872. In 1909 he became the inaugural president of the Victorian Rationalist Association (VRA). He campaigned against the University of Melbourne's plans to open a divinity school.[5]
Career
During World War I, he was an intelligence officer in the
Legal career
Latham had a distinguished legal career. He was admitted to the
Political career
In 1922, Latham was elected to the
After Bruce lost his Parliamentary seat in 1929, Latham was elected as leader of the Nationalist Party, and hence Leader of the Opposition. He opposed the ratification of the
Two years later, Joseph Lyons led defectors from the Labor Party across the floor and merged them with the Nationalists to form the United Australia Party. Although the new party was dominated by former Nationalists, Latham agreed to become Deputy Leader of the Opposition under Lyons. It was believed having a former Labor man at the helm would present an image of national unity in the face of the economic crisis. Additionally, the affable Lyons was seen as much more electorally appealing than the aloof Latham, especially given that the UAP's primary goal was to win over natural Labor constituencies to what was still, at bottom, an upper- and middle-class conservative party. Future ALP leader Arthur Calwell wrote in his autobiography, Be Just and Fear Not, that by standing aside in favour of Lyons, Latham knew he was giving up a chance to become Prime Minister.
The UAP won a huge victory in the 1931 election, and Latham was appointed Attorney-General once again. He also served as Minister for External Affairs and (unofficially) the Deputy Prime Minister. Latham held these positions until 1934, when he retired from the Commonwealth Parliament. He was succeeded as member for Kooyong, Attorney-General and Minister of Industry by Menzies, who would go on to become Australia's longest-serving Prime Minister.
Latham became the first former Opposition Leader, who did not become Prime Minister, to become a minister. He was the only person to hold this distinction until Bill Hayden in 1983.
Judicial career
Latham was appointed Chief Justice of the
As Chief Justice, Latham corresponded with political figures to an extent later writers have viewed as inappropriate. Latham offered advice on political matters – frequently unsolicited – to several prime ministers and other senior government figures. During World War II, he made a number of suggestions about defence and foreign policy,
According to Fiona Wheeler, there was no direct evidence that Latham's political views interfered with his judicial reasoning, but "the mere appearance of partiality is enough for concern" and could have been difficult to refute if uncovered. She particularly singles out his correspondence with Casey as "an extraordinary display of political partisanship by a serving judge."[12] Although Latham emphasised the need for secrecy to the recipients of his letters, he retained copies of most of them in his personal papers, apparently unconcerned that they could be discovered and analysed after his death. He rationalised his actions as those of a private individual, separate from his official position, and maintained a "Janus-like divide between his public and private persona". In other fora he took pains to demonstrate his independence, rejecting speaking engagements if he believed they could be construed as political statements.[13] Nonetheless, "many instances of Latham's advising [...] would today be regarded as clear affronts to basic standards of judicial independence and propriety".[14]
Latham was one of only eight justices of the High Court to have served in the Parliament of Australia prior to his appointment to the Court; the others were
Personal life
He was a prominent rationalist and atheist,[15] after abandoning his parents' Methodism at university. It was at this time that he ended his engagement to Elizabeth (Bessie) Moore, the daughter of Methodist Minister Henry Moore. Bessie later married Edwin P. Carter on the 18th May 1911 at the Northcote Methodist Church, High Street, Northcote.
Latham married Eleanor Mary Tobin, known as Ella.[16] They had three children, two of whom predeceased him. His wife, Ella, also predeceased him. Latham died in 1964 in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond.
He was also a prominent campaigner for Australian literature, being part of the editorial board of The Trident, a small liberal journal, which was edited by Walter Murdoch. The board also included poet Bernard O'Dowd.
Latham was president of the Free Library Movement of Victoria from 1937 and served as president of the Library Association of Australia from 1950 to 1953. He was the first non-librarian to hold the position.[17]
Legacy
The
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e Macintyre 1986.
- ^ "Guide to the Papers of Sir John Latham". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ Wood, Colleen (2014). Great Britain's Exiles sent to Port Phillip, Australia, 1844-1849: Lord Stanley's Experiment (Ph.D. thesis). University of Melbourne. pp. 233–234.
- ^ a b Widdows 2014, p. 9.
- .
- ^ "No. 31712". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1919. p. 4.
- ^ Lewis, David (3 July 1998). "John Latham and the Statute of Westminster". Archived from the original on 11 April 2011.
- ^ Wheeler 2011.
- ^ Wheeler 2011, p. 664.
- ^ Wheeler 2011, pp. 669–671.
- ^ Wheeler 2011, pp. 667–668.
- ^ Wheeler 2011, p. 666.
- ^ Wheeler 2011, p. 653.
- ^ Wheeler 2011, p. 672.
- ^ Morgan 2005, p. 144.
- ^ "Latham, Eleanor Mary". The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ "Sir John Latham". Australian Library and Information Association. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
References
- ISBN 0195500563.
- Kilmister, Michael (2018). Antipodean Imperialist: Sir John Latham, a Political Biography, 1902 to 1934 (PhD thesis). University of Newcastle.
- Lloyd, Clem (1987). "Not peace but a sword!: the High Court under J. G. Latham". Adelaide Law Review. 11 (2): 175–202.
- Macintyre, Stuart (1986). "Latham, Sir John Greig (1877–1964)". ISSN 1833-7538.
- Morgan, D (2005). The Australian Miscellany. Bantam. ISBN 1-86325-537-0.
- Wheeler, Fiona (2011). "Sir John Latham's extra-judicial advising" (PDF). Melbourne University Law Review. 35 (2): 651.
- Widdows, Kelvin (2014). Sir John Latham: Judicial Reasoning in Defence of the Commonwealth (PhD thesis). University of New South Wales.