Hon. Edward Arthur Dunphy (18 June 1907—29 January 1989) was a justice within the Australian federal court system. Dunphy was born 18 June 1907 in

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, the son of William Henry Dunphy, and was educated at the

Christian Brothers' College, Perth Christian Brothers College (CBC), informally known as CBC Perth or The Terrace was an Independent school for boys situated on St Georges Terrace in the centre of Perth, Western Australia. The college opened in January 1894, and the college was a ...

. He married Ethel Marshall Nunn on 19 December 1935, and they were the parents of two sons and three daughters. He was admitted to the Bar in 1932, was Western Australia's Crown Solicitor in May 1938 until September 1945 and appointed as a King's Counsel in 1944, and it was believed that he was then the youngest KC in Australia. In 1949, he was appointed to the Industrial Court and sat on the 1950 Basic Wage case, which made the decision to award a £1 a week pay rise which broke the barrier of £10 a week. and proceeded to sit on a succession of other courts within the federal and territorial jurisdictions until 1983. Dunphy was the sole remaining judge of the Industrial Court which was disbanded and duties taken over by the industrial edition of the Federal Court. He gained some notoriety towards the end of his judicial career for not bending to political will for him to retire when past seventy years of age, following the passing of the 1977 referendum on judicial retirement age. He remained a judge appointed for life, though it was stated by the government as unable to be appoint him to another court due his being past the designated retirement age, a claim that Dunphy rejected saying that other judges over 70 had already been appointed to other courts. He retired from the bench in 1983, and died in 1989.

Judicial appointments

* President of the Arbitration Court of Western Australia from September 1945 – 1949, with status of Supreme Court judge * Member of the Courts Marine Inquiry from 1963 to 1983 * Member of the Land and Valuation Tribunal of the Northern Territory from 1964 to 1983 * Justice of 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 ...

from 1949 to 1956. * Justice of the

Commonwealth Industrial Court The Commonwealth Industrial Court, known as the Australian Industrial Court from 1973, was a specialist court to deal with industrial matters, principally the enforcement of awards and orders of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Com ...

from 1956 to 1983. * Justice of the

Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory is the highest court of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in Civil law (common law), civil matters and hears the most serious Criminal ...

from 1958 to 1983 * Justice of the Supreme Court of Christmas Island and the

Supreme Court of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands The Supreme Court of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands is the ''de jure'' superior court for the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, an Australian external territory. The court was originally established in 1958 after the British Government transferred sovereign ...

from 1961 to 1983 * Justice of the

Supreme Court of Norfolk Island The Supreme Court of Norfolk Island is the superior court for the Australian territory of Norfolk Island. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in civil matters and hears the most serious criminal matters. (NI) s 5 Jurisdiction of ...

from 1970 to 1983. * Judge of the Court of Appeal of Nauru from 1967 to 1983

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunphy, Edward Arthur 1907 births 1989 deaths Judges of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory Judges of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory Australian judges on the courts of Nauru 20th-century Australian judges Judges of the Commonwealth Industrial Court Judges of the Supreme Court of Christmas Island Judges of the Supreme Court of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Judges of the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island Australian King's Counsel