Sir George Hermann Lush (5 October 1912 – 5 April 2000) was an Australian lawyer,

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Judge and Chancellor of Monash University.

Early life and education

Lush was born in

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

, a suburb of Melbourne to a Baptist family in 1912. His father, George was a successful

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

and his brother, Robert was a World War One hero, who was awarded the Military Cross (MC) for gallantry. Lush began his education at

Carey Baptist Grammar School Carey Baptist Grammar School, commonly known as Carey, is an Independent school, independent and co-educational, Baptists, Baptist day school in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The institution consists of five campuses: Kew, Victoria, ...

, where he matriculated in 1929 as a

school prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

and dux. Afterwards, he studied at the University of Melbourne to obtain a Master of Laws (ML) while at Ormond College.

Career

In 1935, Lush joined the Victorian Bar, in which he established a law practise. Despite those initial successes, Lush put his career on hold in order to join the Second Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in 1940. He would eventually serve in the Middle East and New Guinea, of which he rose to the rank of Captain upon his decommissioning in 1946. After the war, Lush re-established his fledgling law practise while also lecturing at the University of Melbourne's Faculty of Law. He would be appointed a Queen's Counsel (QC) in 1957 and would rise to become the Chairman of both the

Victorian Bar Association The Victorian Bar is the bar association of the Australian State of Victoria. The current President of the Bar is Roisin Annesley KC. Its members are barristers registered to practice in Victoria. On 30 June 2020, there were 2,179 counsels ...

and Australian Bar Association in the early 1960s. In February 1966, Lush was appointed a

Judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

of the

Supreme Court of Victoria The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in 1852, it is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited and inherent jurisdiction within the state. The Supreme Court comprises ...

and would serve in that role until October 1983. After his time as a judge, Monash University appointed him its next Chancellor in 1983. He would lead the University through difficult times due to the reduced funding by the Commonwealth Government for tertiary education. Lush served in that capacity for nine years until his retirement in 1992.

Honours and awards

* 1978 –

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Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

for services to the law * 1993 – Honorary Doctor of Law at Monash University

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lush, George Hermann 1912 births 2000 deaths People from Melbourne People educated at Carey Baptist Grammar School University of Melbourne alumni Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian judges Australian King's Counsel Australian Knights Bachelor Judges of the Supreme Court of Victoria