Thomas William McCawley (24 July 188116 April 1925) was a chief justice of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Biography

McCawley was born in

Toowoomba, Queensland Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 C ...

, Australia. He was of Irish-Catholic background, his father having been born in County Leitrim, Ireland. On his mother's side he had German ancestry, his mother coming from

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

, Germany. He was educated at the Sisters of Mercy's Hibernian Hall and a state school in Toowoomba. At the age of 14 he took a job for three years as a clerk in the Toowoomba firm of solicitors, Hamilton & Wonderley. Later, McCawley was employed by the

Queensland Government Savings Bank The Queensland Government Savings Bank was a bank in Queensland, Australia. It was operated by the Queensland Government. It was also known as the Government Savings Bank of Queensland. History The Queensland Government Savings Bank was establ ...

, and was successively transferred to the offices of the public service board and the Department of Justice. Studying after hours, he passed the prescribed examinations and was admitted to the Queensland bar on 7 May 1907. In November 1910, at the age of 29 he was appointed crown solicitor, an appointment which was controversial at the time. McCawley was a staunch Catholic. This, and his links with the Labor Party in Queensland, attracted criticism from some parts of the legal profession in Queensland when he was appointed to a number of senior legal positions in the state There were objections from some quarters, both on political grounds and on the grounds of his lack of experience as practising barrister, when he was appointed as the first president of the Queensland Court of Industrial Arbitration in January 1917, and then puisne judge of the

Supreme Court of Queensland The Supreme Court of Queensland is the highest court in the Australian State of Queensland. It was formerly the Brisbane Supreme Court, in the colony of Queensland. The original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court allows its trial division to he ...

in October 1917. Challenges to his appointment in the Supreme Court of Queensland, and in the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...

, were successful but were overturned by the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in London. During the next few years, until his premature death, he made a significant contribution to industrial relations law. McCawley made contributions to industrial law and relations, and framed an award for railway employees. McCawley was made chief justice of Queensland on the retirement of Sir Pope Cooper on 1 April 1922 when, aged 41, he became the youngest chief justice in the British Empire. McCawley held office until 16 April 1925 when he died suddenly of a heart attack at Roma Street railway station in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

while running to catch a train to Ipswich to attend to legal affairs. He was survived by his wife, four sons and one daughter. McCawley was given a

State funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

at St Stephen's Cathedral and buried at Toowong Cemetery.

Legacy

On 13 December 1927 a bronze bust of McCawley was unveiled at the Board of Arbitration in

. McCawley Street in the Brisbane suburb of Stafford is named after him. In September 1961, McCawley Street in the suburb of Watson in Canberra was named after him in recognition, among other things, of his contributions in the field of industrial law and industrial arbitration.Street names, ACT Government
accessed 2 January 2019. Streets in Watson are named after Australian judges and other leading members of the legal profession. On 22 November 2018, Professor Nicholas Aroney from the University of Queensland delivered the fifth lecture in the 201
Selden Society
lecture series on
Law and politics in McCawley's case
' in the Banco Court in the Supreme Court of Queensland.

References

* * * M. Cope (1976). "The Political Appointment of T.W. McCawley as President of the Court of Industrial Arbitration, Justice of the Supreme Court and Chief Justice of Queensland", ''The University of Queensland Law Journal'', Vol. 9, No. 2 (1976), pp 224–242. * Malcolm Cope (1986).
McCawley, Thomas William (1881 - 1925)'
''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'', Volume 10. * Nicholas Aroney (2006).
Politics, Law and the Constitution in McCawley's Case'
30(3), ''Melbourne University Law Review'', 605. * Nicolas Aroney (2018). Fifth lecture in the 201
Selden Society
lecture series on
Law and politics in McCawley's case
', 22 November 2018.

Notes

External links

McCawley Thomas William
— Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search {{DEFAULTSORT:McCawley, Thomas Chief Justices of Queensland Judges of the Supreme Court of Queensland 20th-century Australian judges 1881 births 1925 deaths Burials at Toowong Cemetery People from Toowoomba

Biography

Legacy

See also

References

Notes

External links