Adrian Knox
Encyclopedia
Sir Adrian Knox KCMG, KC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...

 (29 November 186327 April 1932), Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...

, was the second Chief Justice
Chief Justice of Australia
The Chief Justice of Australia is the informal title for the presiding justice of the High Court of Australia and the highest-ranking judicial officer in the Commonwealth of Australia...

 of the High Court of Australia
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...

, sitting on the bench of the High Court from 1919 to 1930.

Education

Knox was born in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 on 29 November 1863, the son of English migrant parents who owned the Colonial Sugar Refining Company
CSR Limited
CSR Limited is a major Australian industrial company, producing aluminium and building products. It is publicly traded on the Australian Securities Exchange. In 2009, it has approximately 10,000 employees and during a period of a major cyclical downturn the company made an after-tax profit of...

. Knox was educated first in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, and then in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, attending the Harrow School
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...

 and Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws in 1885. Shortly after, he was admitted to the Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...

, where English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...

s are called to the bar
Bar association
A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...

.

Legal career

Knox returned to Australia in 1886 and joined his brother George in practising law. When George died in 1888, Adrian took over the practice, and soon became one of the most successful lawyers at the bar. Between 1888–90, he reported equity cases for the New South Wales Law Reports.

In 1894, Knox was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...

, in the (no longer existing) seat of Woollahra
Electoral district of Woollahra
Woollahra was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, originally created with the abolition of multi-member constituencies in 1894 from part of Paddington, along with Waverley and Randwick. It was named after and including the Sydney suburb of...

. After being reelected in 1895, Knox retired from the parliament in 1898. At this time, he was also a director of the Australian Mutual Provident Society and a founding member of the Walter and Eliza Hall Trust.

Knox was made a King's Counsel in 1906, and shortly after was offered a position on the bench of the Supreme Court of New South Wales
Supreme Court of New South Wales
The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales...

, which he declined. Also in 1906, Knox became Chairman of the Australian Jockey Club
Australian Jockey Club
The Australian Jockey Club was founded in January 1842. It morphed from the former Australian Racing Committee set up in May 1840 to set the standards for racing in the colony...

, indulging his passion for horse-racing. In 1910, Knox's horse "Vavasor" won the Sydney Cup
Sydney Cup
The Sydney Cup is an Australian horse race, held for Thoroughbred horses and run over 3200 metres. It is run every year at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, New South Wales in April/May...

. He remained Chairman until 1919. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, Knox left his practice and traveled to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

, where he served as a Commissioner for the Red Cross
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human...

. He served on the NSW Bar Council from its foundation in 1902 until 1910, and again from 1916 to 1919.

Judicial career

Soon after Knox returned from Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

, Sir Samuel Griffith
Samuel Griffith
Sir Samuel Walker Griffith GCMG QC, was an Australian politician, Premier of Queensland, Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia and a principal author of the Constitution of Australia.-Early life:...

 retired as the first Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...

, and in October 1919, Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...

 Billy Hughes
Billy Hughes
William Morris "Billy" Hughes, CH, KC, MHR , Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923....

 nominated Knox for apppointment as the second. He was appointed to the Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, 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 monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...

 in 1920. Knox sat on a number of judicial committees in this capacity, including one which investigated the British Government's authority to establish the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

. During his time as Chief Justice, Knox presided over such significant cases as the Engineers' case of 1920.

Knox was one of six justices of the High Court to have served in the Parliament of New South Wales
Parliament of New South Wales
The Parliament of New South Wales, located in Parliament House on Macquarie Street, Sydney, is the main legislative body in the Australian state of New South Wales . It is a bicameral parliament elected by the people of the state in general elections. The parliament shares law making powers with...

, along with Edmund Barton
Edmund Barton
Sir Edmund Barton, GCMG, KC , Australian politician and judge, was the first Prime Minister of Australia and a founding justice of the High Court of Australia....

, Richard O'Connor
Richard O'Connor
General Sir Richard Nugent O'Connor KT, GCB, DSO & Bar, MC, ADC was a British Army general who commanded the Western Desert Force in the early years of World War II...

, Albert Piddington
Albert Piddington
Albert Bathurst Piddington was the shortest serving Justice of the High Court of Australia, never actually sitting at the bench. Appointed on 6 March 1913, he resigned on 5 April after opponents questioned his independence.-Early life:Piddington was born in 1862 in Bathurst, New South Wales...

, Edward McTiernan
Edward McTiernan
Sir Edward Aloysius McTiernan, KBE , was an Australian jurist, lawyer and politician. He served as an Australian Labor Party member of both the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and federal House of Representatives before being appointed to the High Court of Australia in 1930...

 and H. V. Evatt
H. V. Evatt
Herbert Vere Evatt, QC KStJ , was an Australian jurist, politician and writer. He was President of the United Nations General Assembly in 1948–49 and helped draft the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights...

.

In 1930, Knox was left half of the estate of his friend and mining magnate John Brown, which was reportedly worth more than a million pounds
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

, and in March 1930 he retired from the High Court in order to manage this business. Knox died in Woollahra
Woollahra, New South Wales
Woollahra is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woollahra is located 5 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woollahra. The Municipality of Woollahra takes its name from the...

 on 27 April 1932 and is interred in Waverley Cemetery
Waverley Cemetery
The Waverley Cemetery opened in 1877 and is a cemetery located on top of the cliffs at Bronte in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. It is noted for its largely intact Victorian and Edwardian monuments. The cemetery contains the graves of many significant Australians including the poet Henry Lawson and...

. He was survived by his wife and three children.

Honours

In 1918, Knox was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....

 (CMG), and in 1921 he was elevated to Knight Commander of that order (KCMG). Knox was an inaugural inductee of the Australian Racing Hall of Fame
Australian Racing Hall of Fame
The Australian Racing Hall of Fame is part of the Australian Racing Museum which documents and honours the horseracing legends of Australia. The museum officially opened in 1981 and created the Hall of Fame in 2000....

, which was established in 2001. The Adrian Knox Stakes is an AJC
Australian Jockey Club
The Australian Jockey Club was founded in January 1842. It morphed from the former Australian Racing Committee set up in May 1840 to set the standards for racing in the colony...

 Group 3
Group races
Group races are the highest standard of Thoroughbred horseraces in Australia. The Australian Pattern Committee recommends to the Australian Racing Board which races shall be designated as Group races...

 Australian Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 quality handicap horse race named in honour of Knox which is held annually at Randwick Racecourse
Randwick Racecourse
Royal Randwick Racecourse is a racecourse for horseracing in the Eastern Suburbs in Sydney, New South Wales. Randwick Racecourse, is operated by the Australian Jockey Club and known to many Sydney racegoers as headquarters...

 in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 in September

External links

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