Neil Richard Maclaurin Mackerras (20 May 1930 – 1 August 1987) was an Australian barrister and social campaigner. Mackerras was born at

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.Sir Charles Mackerras Mackerras in 2005 Sir Alan Charles MacLaurin Mackerras (; 1925 2010) was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was long associated with the Engli ...

, psephologist

Malcolm Mackerras Malcolm Hugh Mackerras AO (born 26 August 1939) is an Australian psephologist and commentator and lecturer on Australian and American politics. Education and works Malcolm Mackerras was born at Turramurra in Sydney in August 1939. He is a brot ...

, and sinologist

Colin Mackerras Colin Patrick Mackerras (; born 26 August 1939 Sydney, Australia) is an Australian sinologist, Emeritus Professor at Griffith University, and specialist in Chinese culture. He has published on Chinese drama, national minorities of China, Aus ...

. He attended St Aloysius' College, Sydney Grammar School 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 ...

, receiving a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in 1951 and a Bachelor of Law in 1956. On 13 November 1954 at the Holy Family Catholic Church in Lindfield he married Elizabeth Margaret Moultrie Connolly. He was called to the Bar on 8 February 1957 and specialised in land law, co-writing ''Landlord and Tenant Practice and Procedure in New South Wales'' (1958, 1966, 1971), a standard text in the area. A staunch Catholic and anti-communist, Mackerras left the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

to join the Democratic Labor Party (DLP), of which he was the inaugural New South Wales branch secretary. He stood as a DLP candidate at the 1972 Mosman by-election receiving 9.53% of the vote. He also sat on the state executive of the party until he resigned in 1972, believing that the election of the Whitlam Labor government marked the fulfilment of the DLP's objective. Mackerras was also a supporter of the

New England New State Movement The New England New State Movement was an Australian political movement in the twentieth century. Founded as the Northern Separation Movement, the aim of the movement was to seek the secession of the New England region and surrounding areas f ...

, and also encouraged Asian immigration on the condition that it did not lead to an influx of communists. On 9 November 1973, Mackerras moved to Moree as a solicitor with the Aboriginal Legal Service, having noted the lack of representation for local Aboriginal youths. However, this proved difficult for his family, and in 1975 they relocated to Kellys Plains, near

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. I ...

, with Mackerras becoming a solicitor at

Uralla Uralla is a town on the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. The town is located at the intersection of the New England Highway and Thunderbolts Way, north of Sydney and about south west of the city of Armidale, New South Wales, Arm ...

. Mackerras devoted the rest of his professional life to the Aboriginal cause; in one case, directing the successful appeal of an Aboriginal boy's gaol sentence, the bond condition forbade the boy to fraternise with Mackerras. He favoured self-determination for the Aboriginal people. Elizabeth had died in 1980, and Mackerras died of

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may ...

on 1 August 1987 at Armidale, survived by nine children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackerras, Neil 1930 births 1987 deaths Australian barristers Democratic Labor Party (historical) politicians

Further reading

References