Frank Rutledge Louat QC (30 December 1901 – 26 January 1963) was an Australian barrister. Born at

Merrylands Merrylands is a suburb in Western Sydney, Australia. Merrylands is located 25 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is in the local government area of the Cumberland City Council. History Merrylands was named after the fo ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

to architect James Rutledge Louat and Mabel Frances Horton (''née'' Busby), Frank attended

Sydney Church of England Grammar School , motto_translation = , established = , type = Independent single-sex and co-educational early learning, primary and secondary day and boarding school , grades = Early learning ...

and the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, receiving a

Bachelor of Law Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1925 and a Doctorate of Law in 1933. At the age of 21, he won election to the council of the Nationalist Party and won the Morven Nolan prize for political science in 1923. Admitted to the bar in 1925, Louat wrote for the ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

'', was joint honorary secretary of the local United Association of Great Britain and France branch, and published ''The Practice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales at Common Law'' in 1928. Louat married divorcee Marian Julia Mackie (''née'' Ellis-Oates) on 27 June 1931, although they divorced in 1937. Louat would marry another divorcee, Isobel Anne Wearne (''née'' Hamilton). From his home at Potts Point, Louat became a writer for the ''

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'' and a commentator for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. As an executive member of the United Australia Party, he was one of four UAP candidates for

Eden-Monaro The Division of Eden-Monaro is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. The previous member, Mike Kelly resigned due to ill health on 30 April 2020. The seat was filled at a by-election on 4 July 2020. Geography S ...

, at the 1940 federal election. A frequent visitor to the High Court, where he often appeared in constitutional cases, Louat was the only practising doctor at the New South Wales Bar for many years. He was president of the Constitutional Association of New South Wales from 1940 to 1946 and spent much of World War II defending civil liberties and free speech. In 1950, he was nominated as an observer for the 1950 referendum in the French territories in India by the Court of International Justice. He was appointed Queen's Counsel on 16 July 1952. Louat died at Dijon of

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

in 1963 while on holiday in France.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Louat, Frank 1901 births 1963 deaths Australian barristers Australian King's Counsel 20th-century Australian lawyers People educated at Sydney Church of England Grammar School