Richard Elgin McGarvie, (21 May 1926 – 24 May 2003) was a judge in 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 1976 to 1992, and the 24th

Governor of Victoria The governor of Victoria is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the Australian state of Victoria. The governor is one of seven viceregal representatives in the country, analogous to the governors of the other states, and the ...

from 1992 to 1997.

Early life

McGarvie was born and brought up on his parents' dairy farm at Pomborneit East in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. After finishing first place at Camperdown High School, he entered the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

in 1944, training at and serving on the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

, . The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

ended before he saw active service. He served with the

British Commonwealth Occupation Force The British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) was the British Commonwealth taskforce consisting of Australian, British, Indian and New Zealand military forces in occupied Japan, from 1946 until the end of occupation in 1952. At its peak, t ...

in Japan and was discharged as an able seaman in 1946. McGarvie joined the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

in 1949 and took a leading role in the dismissal of its Victorian socialist-left dominated Central Executive by bringing about federal intervention.

Legal career

McGarvie studied law at 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 1950, winning the Supreme Court Prize for the top honours student of the year. Joining the Victorian

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1952, he became

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

, chair of the Victorian

Bar Council {{see also, Bar association A bar council ( ga, Comhairle an Bharra) or bar association, in a common law jurisdiction with a legal profession split between solicitors and barristers or advocates, is a professional body that regulates the profess ...

(1973–1975), Treasurer of Law Council of Australia (1974–1976), and

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria an ...

(1981–1992). McGarvie was appointed to the

on 1 June 1976, resigning all political affiliations, and served as a judge until 22 April 1992. He was appointed

from 1992 to 1997.

Constitutional influence

Author of the

McGarvie Model {{Use dmy dates, date=May 2018 The McGarvie Model is a proposition for change to the Australian Constitution to remove references to the monarchy and establish a republic. It is also known as the ''Australian Democracy Model''. The model was dev ...

, McGarvie was an appointed delegate to Constitutional Convention on an Australian republic in February 1998,Vizard, Steve, ''Two Weeks in Lilliput: Bear Baiting and Backbiting At the Constitutional Convention'' (Penguin, 1998, ) and initiated the 2001 Corowa conference to find common ground among republicans after the

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

defeat in 1999. He took the unusual position of making contributions to republicanism, without directly supporting the broader republican movement. He promoted his own model and at the 1998 convention argued the provision for two-thirds parliamentary dismissal of a president was unworkable.

References

External links

Full Text of ''Democracy'' by R. E. McGarvie

Supreme Court of Victoria Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGarvie, Richard 1926 births 2003 deaths Australian republicans Companions of the Order of Australia Governors of Victoria (Australia) Judges of the Supreme Court of Victoria Melbourne Law School alumni Australian King's Counsel Chancellors of La Trobe University Delegates to the Australian Constitutional Convention 1998 People from Colac, Victoria Royal Australian Navy personnel of World War II Military personnel from Victoria (Australia)

Early life

Legal career

Constitutional influence

See also

References

External links