The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

Sir Norman John O'Bryan, QC (16 October 1894 – 5 June 1968) was an Australian barrister and judge who sat on 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 ...

from 1939 to 1966.

Early life and education

Norman John O'Bryan was born on 16 October 1894 in

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at t ...

to a bank manager, Michael John O'Bryan, and his wife Mary Ann, ''née'' Gleeson. He attended the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

and graduated in 1915 with a law degree, finishing top in his year.J. Mcl. Young
"O'Bryan, Sir Norman John (1894–1968)"
''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (online edition, Australian National University; first published in print, 2000). Retrieved 17 March 2018.

Career

O'Bryan was

articled Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

to Plante & Henry, and admitted as a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

and

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1916. He then served in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as an officer in the

Australian Field Artillery The Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery, normally referred to as the Royal Australian Artillery (RAA), is a Regiment of the Australian Army descended from the original colonial artillery units prior to Australia's federation. Australia's first ...

. Returning to Australia at the close of 1919, O'Bryan joined

L. B. Cussen Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

's chambers as a pupil in February 1920, thus beginning a lengthy career in law. He returned to the University of Melbourne in 1929 as a part-time lecturer in law, but left in 1932 as his practice expanded; he was appointed a

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1937 and, while Sir

James Macfarlan James Macfarlan (9 April 1832 – 6 November 1862) was a Scottish poet. He published a few volumes of poetry in his lifetime, while living usually as a pedlar. Life Macfarlan was born in Glasgow on 9 April 1832, son of Andrew Macfarlan, a weaver ...

was on leave, he was appointed an acting judge on the

Victorian Supreme Court 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 compri ...

in February 1939. His appointment made substantive six months later; O'Bryan continued to serve on the Court until 1966, when he retired. In the meantime, he had advised the Minister of the Army during the Second World War, and chaired the advisory council of St Vincent's Hospital in

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

for 19 years from 1944. O'Bryan was knighted in 1958. He died on 5 June 1968 and was buried at

Melbourne General Cemetery The Melbourne General Cemetery is a large (43 hectare) necropolis located north of the city of Melbourne in the suburb of Carlton North. The cemetery is notably the resting place of four Prime Ministers of Australia, more than any other nec ...

; his first wife, Elsa ''née'' Duncan, had died in 1928, but O'Bryan was survived by his second wife, Violet Leila, Elsa's younger sister. He had a daughter by his first wife, and along with four sons another by his second wife, who all survived him. His son, Norman Michael, QC (1930–2013), was a barrister and judge who also sat on the Supreme Court of Victoria, from 1977 to 1992.Norman O'Bryan
"O'Bryan, Norman Michael (1930–2013)"
''Obituaries Australia'' (online edition, Australian National University). Retrieved 17 March 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OBryan, Norman 1894 births 1968 deaths Judges of the Supreme Court of Victoria Australian barristers Judges from Melbourne Knights Bachelor 20th-century Australian judges Australian King's Counsel