Thomas McCawley

Thomas McCawley

Judge Thomas McCawley
Born (1881-07-24)24 July 1881
Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia
Died 16 April 1925(1925-04-16) (aged 43)
Brisbane, Australia
Resting place Toowong cemetery, Brisbane
Nationality Australian
Occupation Lawyer
Known for Role as a leading judge in Queensland
Title Chief Justice
Religion Catholic
Spouse(s) Margaret Mary O'Hagan
Children 5

Thomas William McCawley (24 July 1881 – 16 April 1925) was a chief justice of Queensland.

Biography

McCawley was born in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. He was of Irish-Catholic background, his father having been born in County Leitrim, Ireland. On his mother's side he had German ancestry, his mother coming from Darmstadt, Germany. He was educated at the Sisters of Mercy's Hibernian Hall and a state school in Toowoomba. At the age of 14 he took a job for three years as a clerk in the Toowoomba firm of solicitors, Hamilton & Wonderley.[1] Later, McCawley was employed by the Queensland Government Savings Bank, and was successively transferred to the offices of the public service board and the Department of Justice. Studying after hours, he passed the prescribed examinations and was admitted to the Queensland bar on 7 May 1907. In November 1910, at the age of 29 he was appointed crown solicitor, an appointment which was controversial at the time.[2]

McCawley was a staunch Catholic.[3] This, and his links with the Australian Labor Party in Queensland, attracted criticism from some parts of the legal profession in Queensland when he was appointed to a number of senior legal positions in the state[4] There were objections from some quarters, both on political grounds and on the grounds of his lack of experience as practising barrister, when he was appointed as the first president of the Queensland Court of Industrial Arbitration in January 1917, and then puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland in October 1917. Challenges to his appointment in the Supreme Court of Queensland and in the High Court of Australia were successful but were overturned by the Privy Council in London.[5] During the next few years, until his premature death, he had an outstandingly successful legal career.

McCawley made contributions to industrial law and relations, and framed an award for railway employees. McCawley was made chief justice of Queensland on the retirement of Sir Pope Cooper on 1 April 1922 when he became the youngest chief justice in the British Empire . McCawley held office until 16 April 1925 when he died suddenly of a heart attack at the Roma Street railway station in Brisbane while running to catch a train to Ipswich to attend to legal affairs.[6] He was survived by his wife, four sons and one daughter.

McCawley was given a State funeral at St Stephen's Cathedral and buried at Toowong Cemetery.[7]

On 13 December 1927 a bronze bust of McCawley was unveiled at the Board of Arbitration in Brisbane.

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ 'The Honourable Thomas W McCawley', Supreme Court Library of Queensland.
  2. ↑ D.J Murphy (1975), T.J. Ryan: A political biography, University of Queensland Press, Brisbane, p. 109.
  3. ↑ Murphy, op. cit., p. 109. Murphy also discusses in detail the political and social issues surrounding the role of the Australian Labor Party and the Catholic community in Queensland at the time. The context is also discussed in considerable detail in Nicholas Aroney, 'Politics, Law and the Constitution in McCawley's Case', Melbourne University Law Review 30(3), 2006.
  4. ↑ Scott Guy, Kanchana Kariyawsam and Barbara Hocking, 'The philosophical ideals and political orientation of Thomas McCawley: A social democrat or a pragmatist?', Bond Law Review, 19(2), 2007, pp 58-101.
  5. ↑ Murphy, op.cit., pp. 346, 358, 373, 391, 477, 478.
  6. ↑ "NOTABLE CAREER CLOSED.". The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933). Qld.: National Library of Australia. 17 April 1925. p. 7. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  7. ↑ McCawley Thomas William — Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
Legal offices
Preceded by
Pope Alexander Cooper		 Chief Justice of Queensland
1922-1925 		Succeeded by
James Blair
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