Sir Kenneth Hamilton Bailey (3 November 18983 May 1972) was a senior Australian public servant and lawyer, best known for his time as

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

of the Attorney-General's Department between 1946 and 1964.

Life and career

Kenneth Bailey was born on 3 November 1898 in

Canterbury, Victoria Canterbury is an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km from Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Boroondara local government area. Canterbury recorded a population of 7,800 at the 2021 cens ...

. He was dux of his high school, Wesley College, in 1916. He was Victoria's

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

for 1918, a feat later emulated by his son. Both attended

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12th ...

. In 1927, Bailey was appointed professor of jurisprudence at the University of Melbourne; the following year becoming the first Australia-born dean of the law school. Between 1946 and 1964, Bailey was

Solicitor-General of Australia The Solicitor-General of Australia is the country's second highest-ranking law officer, after the Attorney-General for Australia. The position is often known as the Commonwealth Solicitor-General in order to distinguish it from the state solicit ...

and

of the Attorney-General's Department. During his time as Solicitor-General, Bailey officially opened the Australian Police College in Barton on 25 October 1960. Bailey died on 3 May 1972 in Canberra and was cremated. His son,

Peter Hamilton Bailey Peter Hamilton Bailey (3 September 1927 – 7 November 2021) was a former Australian public servant and academic. He served as an advisor to seven Australian prime ministers, and later became a professor in human rights law at the Australian N ...

, was also a public servant, as well as a human rights academic.

Awards and honours

Bailey was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in June 1953 whilst Permanent Head of the Attorney-General's Department. He was knighted in 1958. In 1972, the University of Melbourne awarded Bailey an honorary doctorate at a special conferring ceremony at Canberra Hospital. The degree was conferred to recognize his distinguished service to the university.

References

1898 births 1972 deaths Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Australian Knights Bachelor Australian Rhodes Scholars People educated at Wesley College (Victoria) Solicitors-General of Australia Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford University of Melbourne alumni High Commissioners of Australia to Canada {{Australia-law-bio-stub 20th-century Australian public servants People from Canterbury, Victoria Lawyers from Melbourne