Alfred William Foster (28 July 1886 – 26 November 1962) was an Australian judge.

Biography

Foster was born at Beechworth to tobacconist Alfred William Foster and Sarah, ''née'' Brown. He attended school locally and graduated from Beechworth College at the age of fourteen. Interested in

spiritualism Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) ...

, around this time Foster rejected

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

as lacking in scientific evidence. He moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

to study law in 1906, where he joined the Victorian Rationalist Association; after a defeat in a debate on

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

against a Victorian Socialist Party team including John Curtin, Foster became a convert to socialism and joined the party himself. He was called to the Bar in June 1910 but struggled in his early legal career. In 1914 Foster became a prominent opponent of Australia's involvement in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and he was later a strident anti-

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

ist, defending those charged under the War Precautions Act and risking conviction himself with some of his speeches. He was also opposed to the

Hughes Hughes may refer to: People * Hughes (surname) * Hughes (given name) Places Antarctica * Hughes Range (Antarctica), Ross Dependency * Mount Hughes, Oates Land * Hughes Basin, Oates Land * Hughes Bay, Graham Land * Hughes Bluff, Victoria La ...

government's censorship laws, and joined the Labor Party during the war, becoming a member of the central executive and standing for the federal seat of Balaclava in 1917 following the party split. He had married Beatrice May Warden on 12 January 1916. He joined the Food Preservers' Union, of which he became president, and was a delegate to the Victorian ALP Conference and the Trades Hall Council. He unsuccessfully contested the federal seat of

Fawkner Fawkner is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Hume and Merri-bek local government areas. Fawkner recorded a population of 14,274 at the 2021 census. The m ...

in 1922 and 1925. In 1920 Foster was appointed as union advocate to the royal commission on the basic wage and successfully argued for an increase, although the recommendation was not implemented. His wife died from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

in 1925. In 1924 he was counsel assisting the royal commission on the 1923 Melbourne police strike, and in 1926 represented the New South Wales and Queensland Labor governments in the

Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration The Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration was an Australian court that operated from 1904 to 1956 with jurisdiction to hear and arbitrate interstate industrial disputes, and to make awards. It also had the judicial functions of in ...

case regarding standard working hours. In 1927 he resigned all political positions to become a judge in the

County Court of Victoria The County Court of Victoria is the intermediate court in the Australian state of Victoria. It is equivalent to district courts in the other states. The County Court is the principal trial court in the state, having a broad criminal and civi ...

; while he enforced the written laws he continued to advocate reform. On 25 January 1927 he married Ella Wilhelmina Jones. In 1934 he attracted controversy for telling a young witness, "There is no hell, sonny." He became a

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

in the 1930s and after the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

supported close relations with the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. In October 1942 Foster was appointed to head the Women's Employment Board before being transferred to the Commonwealth Arbitration Court in October 1944. He was involved in a major case on standard hours that ran from 1945 to 1947 and delivered the judgement on the forty-hour week. In 1950 he influenced the decision to increase the weekly wage by £1. Despite being considered early in his term as a champion for the unions, he decided against eight officials who defied the Chifley government's emergency laws against assisting strikers in 1949. In 1952 he was assigned to the maritime industry and encouraged the replacement of outdated vessels, created a new seamen's award in 1955 and adjusted it to placate shipowners in 1960. He died at

Sandringham Sandringham can refer to: Places * Sandringham, New South Wales, Australia * Sandringham, Queensland, Australia * Sandringham, Victoria, Australia **Sandringham railway line **Sandringham railway station **Electoral district of Sandringham * Sand ...

in 1962.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Alfred 1886 births 1962 deaths 20th-century Australian judges Australian pacifists Australian socialists Judges of the County Court of Victoria