Vale – Charles William George Wheeler

Charlie was born on 18 February 1935. He signed the Bar Roll on 28 May 1964 after studying law part time whilst working. Charlie read with the late Honourable Ken Jenkinson QC and was followed as Ken’s next reader by Kevin Mahony. Kevin and Charlie forged a lifetime’s friendship. In July 1990, when Charlie was appointed as a Master of the Supreme Court of Victoria (a position now known as Associate Justice) he thereafter worked under Kevin, then Senior Master, for the entirety of his own term at the Court.

Before his elevation, Charlie enjoyed a thriving practice in compensation and the Practice Court for 26 years. Charlie was a great character of the Bar, with a professed deep love for literature and sailing. Little speculation was needed as to the origin of the name ‘SWMBO’ given by Charlie to his favourite yacht, and his wife, Wendy, affected not to understand that this was the acronym given by Jonny Mortimer’s fictional barrister, Rumpole, to his wife, Hilda.

Charlie served as a Master for almost 15 years. During his term, Charlie ruled the Master’s Practice Court with his wry sense of humour and his encyclopaedic knowledge of the rules, interspersed with the occasional short-lived eruption upon Charlie’s detection of an errant staple hole in an affidavit filed in his Court. Charlie never took out his ire on the hapless counsel and simply required a suitably contrite affidavit from the guilty solicitor in order to expiate this egregious sin.

Typical of Charlie’s love and commitment to the Bar he had eight readers, including Hugh Burchill, Bernard Sutherland, Jacob Fronistas OAM and Gerald Grabau, who are current members of our Bar. Whilst at the Bar, Charlie was a member of many Committees including the Joint Standing Committee on County Court Practice and Procedure, the County Court Rules Committee and the Law Reform Committee (County Court Practice) and he also co-edited County Court Practice for about 15 years before his appointment.

We extend our deepest sympathy to Charlie’s wife Wendy, their son, Dr. Greg Wheeler, and daughter, Mrs. Prue Paver.

Charlie’s funeral is to be held at 11am on Friday 22 April 2022 at St. Andrews Church, 228 New Street, Brighton. There will be a private cremation.

The ceremony can be watched online via live stream here.