Cyril Walsh
Encyclopedia
Sir Cyril Ambrose Walsh KBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 (15 June 1909 – 29 November 1973), 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, was a 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...

.

Walsh 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...

, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, the son of Michael and Mary Walsh. He grew up in the western suburb of Werrington
Werrington, New South Wales
Werrington is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Werrington is located 48.5 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Penrith and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region.-Aboriginal culture:Prior to...

, where his father owned a dairy farm. He was educated at St Joseph's Convent School and later at Parramatta High School
Parramatta High School
Parramatta High School is a public, co-educational high school located in Parramatta, a western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.Established in 1913, Parramatta High School was the first co-educational school in the Sydney Metropolitan area...

 in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta
Parramatta, New South Wales
Parramatta is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Greater Western Sydney west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Parramatta River. Parramatta is the administrative seat of the Local Government Area of the City of Parramatta...

. In 1926, he won the T E Rofe Prize, worth £ 6, for the best history essay in the state, writing on the Mutiny on the Bounty
Mutiny on the Bounty
The mutiny on the Bounty was a mutiny that occurred aboard the British Royal Navy ship HMS Bounty on 28 April 1789, and has been commemorated by several books, films, and popular songs, many of which take considerable liberties with the facts. The mutiny was led by Fletcher Christian against the...

.

Walsh commenced studies at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...

 in 1927, living at St John's College
St John's College, University of Sydney
]St John's College, or the College of St John the Evangelist, is a residential College within the University of Sydney.Established in 1857, the College of St John the Evangelist is the oldest Roman Catholic university college and second-oldest university college in Australia, and is one of the...

. Walsh graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1930 and a Bachelor of Laws in 1934, both with honours. He also won the university Medals in English, Philosophy and Law, and first-class honours in English, Philosophy and Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

, was awarded the James Coutts Scholarship for English and was the joint winner of the John George Dalley Prize. His cumulative undergraduate record is regarded as the finest record before or since for any law student at the university.

On 26 May 1934, Walsh was admitted to the New South Wales Bar, where he began to practice as a 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...

. His office was located in the Chalfont Chambers building in central Sydney, where his neighbours included future Chief Justice of Australia
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...

 and High Court colleague Garfield Barwick
Garfield Barwick
Sir Garfield Edward John Barwick, was the Attorney-General of Australia , Minister for External Affairs and the seventh and longest serving Chief Justice of Australia...

. Walsh's main work was in equity. He argued many equity cases in 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...

 in the 1940s and 1950s, and argued at least ten cases before the High Court in that time.

On 28 November 1942, Walsh married his wife Mary at the St Joseph's Catholic Church in Burwood Heights
Burwood Heights, New South Wales
Burwood Heights is a small suburb, inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is situated within the local government area of Burwood Council....

, they would later have three sons together. The family lived mainly in the inner western Sydney suburb of Summer Hill
Summer Hill, New South Wales
Summer Hill is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Summer Hill is located 8 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Ashfield....

.

In January 1954, Walsh was made a Judge 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...

, an appointment which was widely accepted as well-deserved, although Walsh was relatively young at the age of 44. On 3 May 1955, Walsh was appointed to the Council of St John's College as a Fellow, and was later deputy chairman of the council from 1969 to 1972. In 1958 he was appointed as the head Judge of the newly established Commercial Causes List in the Supreme Court. The most notable case he was involved in at this time was the famous Wagon Mound #2
Overseas Tankship v Miller Steamship
Overseas Tankship Ltd v The Miller Steamship Co or The Wagon Mound [1967] 1 AC 617 is a landmark tort case, concerning the test for breach of duty of care in negligence...

 case, which was ultimately appealed to the Privy Council
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is one of the highest courts in the United Kingdom. Established by the Judicial Committee Act 1833 to hear appeals formerly heard by the King in Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is one of the highest courts in the United...

, which relied significantly on Walsh's findings of fact, almost all of which were not challenged. In 1962, Walsh was selected by Barwick (then the Foreign Minister of Australia) as Australia's representative to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific , located in Bangkok, Thailand, is the regional arm of the United Nations Secretariat for the Asian and Pacific region. It was established in 1947 to encourage economic cooperation among its member states...

. On 1 January 1966, he was elevated to the newly established Court of Appeal of New South Wales
Court of Appeal of New South Wales
The New South Wales Court of Appeal is the highest civil state court for the Australian State of New South Wales. It forms part of the Supreme Court of New South Wales.-History:...

 (a branch of the Supreme Court), the first specialist appellate court in Australia.

Walsh was appointed to the High Court on 3 October 1969. Also that year he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

, and on 1 January 1971 was appointed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is one of the highest courts in the United Kingdom. Established by the Judicial Committee Act 1833 to hear appeals formerly heard by the King in Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is one of the highest courts in the United...

. Walsh was only on the High Court for a short period of time, but participated in several important cases including the Concrete Pipes case
Strickland v Rocla Concrete Pipes Ltd
Strickland v Rocla Concrete Pipes Ltd 124 CLR 468, also known as the Concrete Pipes Case, is a High Court of Australia case that discusses the scope of the corporations power in section 51 of the Australian Constitution...

 and the Payroll Tax case
Victoria v Commonwealth (1971)
Victoria v Commonwealth 122 CLR 353, commonly referred to as the Payroll Tax Case, was a case decided in the High Court of Australia regarding the scope of the Commonwealth's taxation power and the extent to which it can burden a state's structural integrity.-Background:Commonwealth passed the...

.

Walsh remained on the bench of the High Court until his death from multiple myeloma
Multiple myeloma
Multiple myeloma , also known as plasma cell myeloma or Kahler's disease , is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell normally responsible for the production of antibodies...

 on 29 November 1973. The High Court sat on 30 November in a special sitting to commemorate Walsh. Barwick, then the Chief Justice, delivered the eulogy
Eulogy
A eulogy is a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing, especially one recently deceased or retired. Eulogies may be given as part of funeral services. However, some denominations either discourage or do not permit eulogies at services to maintain respect for traditions...

in which he said that "The Court has lost a Justice from whom increasingly distinguished service was confidently expected."
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