The Victorian Bar's Arts and Collections committee oversees the commission of portraits of the Bar's illuminaries past and present as well as the maintenance, cataloguing and display of the Bar's art collection and artefacts. The Bar's portrait collection is located in the Peter O'Callaghan QC Gallery in the foyer of the Owen Dixon Chambers East and West.
The Honourable Sir Richard McGarvie
(1926-2003)
The son of a dairy farmer, Richard McGarvie had a country upbringing in the Western District. He was educated at Camperdown High School, of which he was dux.
From 1944 to 1946 he served in the Royal Australian Navy on the HMAS Arunta and with the Occupation Forces in Japan.
Following discharge, McGarvie studied law at Melbourne University. He graduated in 1950 and was the Supreme Court Prize winner for that year. He was called to the Bar in 1952. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1963, at the age of 37.
Richard McGarvie was Chairman of the Victorian Bar during 1973 to 1975. In 1976, he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Victoria. He served on the bench until his appointment as Governor of Victoria (1992 to 1997).
Richard McGarvie died on 14 May 2003.
His country upbringing was never forgotten or ignored. His Opening Address to the Judicial Council of Australia’s annual colloquium in 1998 was entitled, “The Courts and the Future: New Stump Jump Ploughs to Cultivate Old Paddocks” and at his funeral, his son Richard (McGarvie QC) told the congregation, “He could shoe a horse, skin a rabbit, milk a cow and kill a snake with a single bullet”.
Artist – Sir William Dargie CBE
(1912 – 2003)
Dargie was born in Footscray, Victoria. He was educated as a primary and secondary school teacher but chose to pursue an artistic career and study at the Melbourne Technical College and informally with Archie Colquhoun.
In 1941 Dargie was appointed an official war artist and travelled to the Middle-East. After the Second World War he worked to set up the exhibition galleries at the Australian War Memorial.
Dargie won the Archibald Prize on eight occasions and is best known for his portraits which include the “Wattle Painting” portrait of Queen Elizabeth, the original of which hangs in Parliament House Canberra.
The Honourable Sir Ninian Stephen
(1923 - 2017)
Sir Ninian Stephen was born at Henley-on-Thames, in Oxfordshire, England in 1923. Sadly, his father died when he was an infant. Young Ninian and his mother travelled extensively and his early schooling was somewhat itinerant; St Paul’s in London, the Edinburgh Academy in Scotland and in Montreux, Switzerland. In 1940, the family immigrated to Australia and Ninian completed his education at Scotch College, Melbourne.
Sir Ninian commenced his legal training by undertaking the Articled Clerk course whilst employed by the firm of Arthur Robinson. In 1943, he joined the army and served in Papua New Guinea and Borneo, rising to the rank of Lieutenant. Upon discharge in 1946, Sir Ninian returned to his studies and obtained his LLB from Melbourne University in 1950.
Sir Ninian was called to the Bar in 1952 and took silk in 1966. He had a leading constitutional law, equity and company law practice. In 1970, he was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria. In 1972, he was appointed to the High Court of Australia. In 1982, he was appointed as Australia’s Governor General and held that office until 1989.
During the 1990s, Sir Ninian served on numerous international commissions and tribunals; as Australia’s first Ambassador for the Environment (1989); as the chair of talks between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland (1992-1993); as a judge on the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (1993) and later in the Appeals Chamber for the Yugoslavia and Rwanda Tribunals; as a judge on the International Court of Justice on the East Timor resources case (1995); as an investigator for the International Labour Organisation in Burma; as the chair of the Group of Experts investigating the possibilities for trying former leaders of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia (1998).
The Governor of Victoria and former Chair of the Victorian Bar, Alex Chernov AC QC paid tribute to Sir Ninian on his ninetieth birthday, remarking on “...the relaxed atmosphere that Sir Ninian engendered by his demeanour ... the words he chose, his often wicked sense of humour and that fabulous, calm velvety voice that would tame even the wildest beasts in man”. If only paintings could talk! As Rick Amor’s portrait so expertly captures Sir Ninian’s other qualities.
The portrait was commissioned by the Victorian Bar and unveiled in September 2006 by the Honourable Justice Ken Hayne, High Court judge and member of the Victorian Bar.
Rick Amor (Artist)
Rick Amor was born in Frankston, Victoria in 1948. He studied at the Caulfield Institute of Technology and the National Gallery School, Melbourne. He has been the recipient of several prestigious art prizes, including travelling scholarships to London, New York and Barcelona. In 1999, he was appointed as the Official War Artist to the Australian Defence Force’s mission in East Timor.
Frank Costigan QC
Frank Costigan was admitted to practice in 1953 and his early practice was in workers’ compensation and common law, but he later developed a very broad general practice including crime, commercial matters, and public law. Frank signed the Roll of Counsel in 1957 and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1973. Frank served on the Victorian Bar Council between 1968 and 1979 and as Chairman for the last two years of that period. His notable professional positions include President of the Australian Bar Association; and Executive Member, then Treasurer, of the Law Council of Australia. He was on numerous Victorian Bar Committees for many years, including 15 years on the Applications Review Committee.
In 1980, Frank was appointed to chair the Royal Commission on the activities of the Federated Ship Painters and Dockers Union which ran until 1984. The Costigan Commission, as it became known, moved from the investigation of union criminality to allegations of tax evasion and organised crime.
He was a Victorian Bar Accredited Mediator for more than 15 years, and was Nationally Accredited in 2008. For many years, Frank was Vice-Chairman of Jesuit Social Services and Chairman of the Victorian Drug Rehabilitation Fund. He was very pleased in 2007 to be appointed to the panel of counsel assisting the AFL Tribunal. He was a respected member of the legal society until his death in 2009.
Artist - J.H. Spooner
Spooner is an Australian journalist and illustrator who is a regular contributor to Melbourne’s Age newspaper. Spooner is a graduate in law from Monash University and practised as a lawyer for several years before commencing to work for the Age.
Spooner has won many awards for excellence including Walkley Awards for cartoon illustrations.
The Honourable Daryl Dawson AC KBE CB QC
Sir Daryl Dawson studied law at the University of Melbourne and later completed a Masters of Law at Yale University.
Sir Daryl was admitted to the Victorian Bar in 1957 and was appointed Queens Counsel in 1971. He served as the Solicitor-General of Victoria from 1974 to 1982.
In 1982 Sir Daryl was appointed a Justice of the High Court of Australia, retiring in August 1997. From 1997 until 2003, he served as a non-permanent judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. He was knighted in 1982 and became a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1986.
Artist – Robert Hannaford
Hannaford is a self-taught South Australian artist who, for a time, worked as a cartoonist for the Adelaide Advertiser. Hannaford won the Doug Moran portrait prize in 1990 and has won numerous People’s Choice awards at the Archibald Prize.
Professor The Honourable George Hampel AM QC
Retired Supreme Court Judge Professor George Hampel AM QC has had a long and illustrious legal career. Admitted to the Victorian Bar in 1958, Hampel was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1976. He sat as Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria between 1983 and 2000. Since retiring, Hampel J has directed his energies to improving the way advocacy is taught in Australia and abroad.
Hampel is considered a leader in the field of advocacy and sits as Chairman of the Australian Advocacy Institute, Leo Cussen Institute and the Victorian Bar Readers’ Course. Hampel J was appointed Professor of Advocacy and Trial Practice at Monash University in 2000. He has been involved with bodies such as the Victorian Bar Council, Council of Legal Education, Legal Practice Board and Law Council of Australia which has broadened his field of contact within the profession. In 2001, he was awarded the Centenary of Federation Medal for chairing the Constitution Commission. Hampel J was the founder and President of Monash University’s International Academy of Forensic Studies.
When asked what has been the most enjoyable part of his career, the answer is teaching. His passion for teaching was sparked when he was a tutor at Melbourne University and has driven him for the past 40 years. In 2006, Hampel was awarded the Order of Australia for the development of advocacy training and service to legal institutions.
Artist - J.H. SpoonerSpooner is an Australian journalist and illustrator who is a regular contributor to Melbourne’s Age newspaper. Spooner is a graduate in law from Monash University and practised as a lawyer for several years before commencing to work for the Age.
Spooner has won many awards for excellence including Walkley Awards for cartoon illustrations.
The Honourable Dr Thomas Smith AC QC
The Honourable Justice Thomas Weetman Smith was admitted to practice in 1923 and was called to the Bar in 1926.
From 1942 to 1945 he was secretary to the War Cabinet. Smith took Silk in 1948. His Honour was a lecturer in Contract Law at the University of Melbourne from 1934 to 1946.
His Honour served on the Supreme Court Bench for some 23 years between 1950 and 1973. Notably, as Chairman of the Council of Legal Education, his Honour implemented what became known as the RMIT Articled Clerk’s course. His Honour was Chairman of the RMIT Law course from 1962 to 1973.
His Honour was also a member of the Monash Law School Faculty and held the position of Victoria’s Law Reform Commissioner from 1973 to 1977. After retirement from this position, and at the invitation of the Attorney General Hadden Story QC, he participated in further advisory work for the Government, particularly in the area of Criminal Law.
His Honour is remembered also for being a prominent advocate for both women’s rights and the rights of indigenous Australians.
Artist – Paul Fitzgerald AM
(1922 - 2017)
Born in 1922 in Hawthorn, Victoria, Paul Fitzgerald studied at the National Gallery School in the periods 1940-43 and 1946-47. His studies were interrupted for service in the Army during World War II.
Fitzgerald was a finalist for the Archibald on many occasions with portraits of Justice Monahan, Sir Reg Ansett, Sir Henry Bolte and Sir Robert Menzies.
Fitzgerald founded the Australian Guild of Realist Artists.
The Honourable Margaret Lusink AM
Margaret “Peg” Lusink was born in 1922 in Tocumwal, New South Wales, the daughter of Emanuel Rosanove, a medical practitioner, and Joan Rosanove, a solicitor, who later became Victoria’s first female silk.
Margaret was educated in Melbourne at the Loreto Convent and the Melbourne Girls Grammar School. She came to the law relatively late, beginning her legal studies at Melbourne University in 1960, at the age of 38, after being widowed the previous year and with three sons to support. By 1970, Margaret was a partner at Corr & Corr (Corrs Chambers Westgarth) heading up its Matrimonial Causes practice.
Margaret was called to the Bar in 1975. She read with Bill Gillard (the Hon. E. William Gillard QC). In February 1976, she was appointed to the newly established Federal Family Court. This was the first appointment of a Victorian woman as a judge to a superior Court. Margaret served on the Family Court for twelve years, during which time she set up the Dandenong Registry. Following her resignation in 1988, Margaret became an adjunct professor of law at Bond University in Queensland and later set up one of the early mediation practices in Victoria.
In 1996, she was made a Member of the Order of Australia for service to the law through the Family Court of Australia and to the Community.
In 2014, Margaret generously donated her mother, Joan Rosanove QC’s portrait by Flora Lyon and her own portrait by Dudley Drew, to the Victorian Bar’s collection.
Artist – Dudley Drew
Dudley Drew was born in 1924, in Dennington, in the western district of Victoria. His artistic talent was recognised early by the nuns at his primary school. Dudley left school at 14 to become a fitter and turner, but was encouraged by his teachers at the Working Man College in Melbourne to realise his talent as a painter.
Dudley Drew is well known for his portraits of subjects as varied as the Carlton footballer and 1947 Brownlow medal winner, Bert Deacon, the war hero Sir Edward “Weary” Dunlop and Catholic Archbishops Daniel Mannix, George Pell and Dennis Hart. His portrait of The Hon. Margaret Lusink AM was painted in 1975.
The Honourable Sally Brown AM
Sally Brown was admitted to practice in 1974. After practising as a solicitor and tertiary lecturer she spent seven years at the Victorian Bar. She was appointed a Magistrate in 1985, Deputy Chief Magistrate in April 1987, Chief Magistrate of Victoria in 1990 and a Judge of the Family Court of Australia in 1993. She in retired in 2010.
In 2003 she was appointed to the Victorian Roll of Honour for Women and in 2006 was made a Member of the Order of Australia. She served on many Boards including as Chair of the Australian Institute of Criminology.
She was instrumental in the development and delivery of judicial education in Victoria particularly in relation to gender and culture and the impact of family violence. She is recognised for her longstanding commitments to equality of opportunity for women and the welfare and rights of children.
The ArtistJosephine Kuperholz is a Victorian photographic artist with a distinguished record of solo and group exhibitions. She is recognised for her innovative techniques. For this portrait, commissioned by the Victorian Bar and the Women Barristers’ Association in 2002, she printed the images used on the two glass panels by adapting a 19th Century non-silver photographic process. The colour and translucency of the work was achieved by adding layers of water-colour pigments mixed with light sensitive chemicals.
The Honourable Chief Justice Marilyn Warren AC
Marilyn Warren was the first female articled clerk in the public service in Victoria and was admitted to practice in 1975. She was then called to the Victorian Bar in 1985. From 1986 to 1994 Marilyn Warren was a member of the Law Reform Committee at the Bar.
On 25 November 1997 Marilyn Warren was appointed silk and on 13 October 1998 she was appointed a Judge in the trial division of the Supreme Court of Victoria. She has been Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria since 25 November 2003; the first female Chief Justice of any of the states and territories of Australia.
Marilyn Warren is also Lieutenant Governor of Victoria since 2006, President of the Victorian Law Foundation, Chair of the Judicial College of Victoria, Chair of the Council of Legal Education and Chair of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine. Marilyn Warren was awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia in 2005 for service to the judiciary and to the legal profession.
Artist – Peter Churcher
Peter Churcher was born in Brisbane, Queensland. Churcher is currently living and working in Barcelona, Spain.
His first solo exhibition was in 1994. He was selected by the Australian War Memorial to be the official Australian war artist for the War on Terrorism in 2002 where he was sent to the Persian Gulf and Diego Garcia, he recorded the people and operations of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
He has entered at ten Archibald prizes and been hung six times. He was represented in the 1996, 1997 and 1999 Archibald Prizes, as well as the 1998 and 2000 Sulman Prize.