H. V. Evatt
Encyclopedia
Herbert Vere Evatt, QC
KStJ (30 April 18942 November 1965), 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
(1948). He was Leader of the Australian Labor Party
(and thus Leader of the Opposition) from 1951 to 1960.
Evatt was formally referred to as Dr H. V. Evatt, but was informally known as "Bert" or "Doc" Evatt.
Evatt was born in Maitland, New South Wales
, son of John and Jeanie Evatt, and elder brother of Clive Evatt
. The family was working-class of British and Irish origin. He was never called Herbert: his family called him Bert, everyone else called him Doc.
After attending Fort Street High School
in Sydney, Evatt won scholarships to the University of Sydney
, whilst there he was a resident of St Andrew's College, where he graduated in 1919 with two University Medal
s, in Philosophy and Law. He was President of the University of Sydney Union
from 1916–17.
clients.
member for Balmain
in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
. Re-elected as an 'Independent Labor' candidate in 1927, Evatt served in the Legislative Assembly until 1930.
Labor government appointed Evatt as the youngest-ever justice of the High Court of Australia
. Regarded by some as a brilliant and innovative judge, he delivered a number of minority judgements, several of which were decades later adopted by High Court majorities. Evatt could, however, be partial on the bench. Sir Owen Dixon
noted in one instance how Evatt was "full of antagonism to the respondent ... Most unjudicial." It is noticeable, upon examination of the Commonwealth Law Reports for the 1930s, that when Evatt was not particularly interested in a case he generally went along with Dixon's judgment.
Evatt was one of six justices of the High Court to have served in the Parliament of New South Wales
, along with Edmund Barton
, Richard O'Connor
, Adrian Knox
, Albert Piddington
and Edward McTiernan
.
In 1934 Evatt played an important part in the Egon Kisch exclusion when he ruled that the Lyons Government's ban on Kisch entering Australia had been incorrectly executed and that he was free to enter the country.
In several matters, Robert Menzies
, the Attorney-General in the Lyons
conservative government, appeared before the court, where he and Evatt had several colourful exchanges on questions of law. This was the beginning of a life-long mutual dislike.
in the House of Representatives
. When Labor came to power under John Curtin
in 1941, Evatt became Attorney-General and Minister for External Affairs (Foreign Minister).
Evatt joined the diplomatic councils of the allies during World War II, and in 1945 he played a leading role in the founding of the UN. He was President of the U.N. General Assembly in 1948–49, and was prominent in the negotiations which led to the creation of Israel
. He helped draft the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and was also the first chairperson of the Atomic Energy Commission
. He became deputy leader of the Labor Party after the 1946 election
, supporting Ben Chifley
.
and made personal representations to the Marylebone Cricket Club
who were reluctant to send a cricket team to tour Australia so soon after the war. He put forward convincing arguments as to the need to re-establish sporting relations and the financial benefits of the tour and the MCC agreed to the 1946–47 Ashes series
. Don Bradman later said that "The quick resumption of Anglo-Australian Tests had justified itself in every way, psychologically, technically, financially".
, Labor was defeated by Menzies' new Liberal Party
. When Ben Chifley
(still Labor leader) died suddenly in 1951, Evatt was elected unopposed as his successor. At first his leadership went rather well, and he campaigned successfully against Menzies' attempt
to amend the Constitution to ban the Communist Party
. Many convinced anti-Communists in the Labor Party believed this was both bad politics and bad policy, because of the active Communist infiltration of numerous trade unions, and because of the threat to national security posed by communism. Still, none of these Labor men except the firebrand Stan Keon
overtly censured Evatt's stance.
Evatt's failure to win the 1954 election
led him to blame the Catholic-dominated Industrial Groups
in the party for sabotaging his campaign. He was also convinced (wrongly, as primary sources afterwards revealed) that Menzies had conspired with the security services to bring about the defection of a Soviet
diplomat (see Petrov Affair
), and, moreover, to do so with the specific purpose of discrediting Evatt. Documents shown to the commission members were alleged to provide evidence of an extensive Soviet spy ring in Australia, and named (among many others), two of Evatt's staff members. Evatt appeared before the Royal Commission as attorney for his staff members. His cross-examination of a key ASIO operative transformed the commission's hearings and greatly perturbed the government. Almost immediately, the Royal Commission simply withdrew Evatt's leave to appear. Evatt alleged that this denial was this result of judicial bias towards the Menzies government.
After the election, Evatt launched a public attack on "The Groupers", which precipitated a disastrous split in the party
, with most of the "Groupers" leaving or being expelled. The disaffected formed the Democratic Labor Party
, which directed its preferences
against Labor at subsequent elections. This, together with an obsessive hatred of Menzies which led him into many tactical errors, caused Labor to be heavily defeated at both the 1955
and 1958 federal elections
. During the 1958 campaign, at which he transferred to the seat of Hunter
, Evatt made a dramatic offer to resign as leader if the DLP would return to the party, but the offer was rejected.
In 1960 the Labor government in New South Wales appointed Evatt Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales
, an appointment that was widely seen as a means of giving him a dignified exit from politics. His career as Chief Justice was undistinguished and erratic, lacking the legal insight he had exhibited as an academic and High Court justice. Tom Hughes, a leading Sydney barrister and former Liberal
Attorney-General, has claimed that all of the judgments Evatt gave in this period were co-authored with a judicial colleague.
. In 1962 Evatt suffered a mental breakdown, and was persuaded to retire from the bench. He died in Canberra
in November 1965.
is still considered highly relevant, although others such as Michael Duffy disagree with Evatt's view. He contributed an article on "Cricket and the British Commonwealth" to the 1949 edition of the Wisden Cricketer's Almanack.
His publications include:
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...
KStJ (30 April 18942 November 1965), was an Australian jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
, politician and writer. He was President of the United Nations General Assembly
President of the United Nations General Assembly
The President of the United Nations General Assembly is a position voted for by representatives in the United Nations General Assembly on a yearly basis.- Election :...
in 1948–49 and helped draft the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled...
(1948). He was Leader of the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
(and thus Leader of the Opposition) from 1951 to 1960.
Evatt was formally referred to as Dr H. V. Evatt, but was informally known as "Bert" or "Doc" Evatt.
Early years and education
Maitland, New South Wales
Maitland is a city in the Lower Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Maitland City Council, situated on the Hunter River approximately by road north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle...
, son of John and Jeanie Evatt, and elder brother of Clive Evatt
Clive Evatt
Clive Evatt QC was an Australian politician, barrister and raconteur. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1939 until 1959. At various times he sat as a member of the Industrial Labor Party, ALP and as an independent.-Early life:Evatt was born in Maitland and was the...
. The family was working-class of British and Irish origin. He was never called Herbert: his family called him Bert, everyone else called him Doc.
After attending Fort Street High School
Fort Street High School
Fort Street High School is a co-educational, academically selective, public high school currently located at Petersham, an inner western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
in Sydney, Evatt won scholarships to 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...
, whilst there he was a resident of St Andrew's College, where he graduated in 1919 with two University Medal
University Medal
A University Medal is one of several different types of awards, bestowed by universities upon outstanding students or members of staff. The usage and status of university medals differ between countries.-As award on graduation:...
s, in Philosophy and Law. He was President of the University of Sydney Union
University of Sydney Union
The University of Sydney Union is the student-run services and amenities provider at the University of Sydney. The Union's key services include the provision of food and beverages, live music and other entertainment, the Verge Arts Festival and other cultural activities, Orientation week and...
from 1916–17.
Lawyer
Due to poor eyesight, Evatt was unable to serve in the First World War, in which two of his brothers were killed. He became a prominent industrial lawyer in Sydney, working mainly for trade unionTrade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
clients.
NSW Parliament
In 1925 Evatt was elected as an Australian Labor PartyAustralian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
member for Balmain
Electoral district of Balmain
Balmain is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly of the Australian state of New South Wales in Sydney's Inner West. It includes the suburbs and localities of Annandale, Balmain, Balmain East, Birchgrove, Forest Lodge, Glebe, Glebe Island, Haberfield, Leichhardt, Lilyfield, Rozelle,...
in 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...
. Re-elected as an 'Independent Labor' candidate in 1927, Evatt served in the Legislative Assembly until 1930.
High Court Judge
In 1930 the ScullinJames Scullin
James Henry Scullin , Australian Labor politician and the ninth Prime Minister of Australia. Two days after he was sworn in as Prime Minister, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 occurred, marking the beginning of the Great Depression and subsequent Great Depression in Australia.-Early life:Scullin was...
Labor government appointed Evatt as the youngest-ever 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...
. Regarded by some as a brilliant and innovative judge, he delivered a number of minority judgements, several of which were decades later adopted by High Court majorities. Evatt could, however, be partial on the bench. Sir Owen Dixon
Owen Dixon
Sir Owen Dixon, OM, GCMG, KC Australian judge and diplomat, was the sixth Chief Justice of Australia. A justice of the High Court for thirty-five years, Dixon was one of the leading jurists in the English-speaking world and is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever jurist.-Education:Dixon...
noted in one instance how Evatt was "full of antagonism to the respondent ... Most unjudicial." It is noticeable, upon examination of the Commonwealth Law Reports for the 1930s, that when Evatt was not particularly interested in a case he generally went along with Dixon's judgment.
Evatt 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...
, Adrian Knox
Adrian Knox
Sir Adrian Knox KCMG, KC , Australian judge, was the second Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, sitting on the bench of the High Court from 1919 to 1930.-Education:...
, 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...
and 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...
.
In 1934 Evatt played an important part in the Egon Kisch exclusion when he ruled that the Lyons Government's ban on Kisch entering Australia had been incorrectly executed and that he was free to enter the country.
In several matters, Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
, the Attorney-General in the Lyons
Joseph Lyons
Joseph Aloysius Lyons, CH was an Australian politician. He was Labor Premier of Tasmania from 1923 to 1928 and a Minister in the James Scullin government from 1929 until his resignation from the Labor Party in March 1931...
conservative government, appeared before the court, where he and Evatt had several colourful exchanges on questions of law. This was the beginning of a life-long mutual dislike.
Federal Parliament
In 1940 Evatt resigned from the High Court to return to politics, and was elected federal MP for the Sydney seat of BartonDivision of Barton
The Division of Barton is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1922 and is named for Sir Edmund Barton, the first Prime Minister of Australia...
in the House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
. When Labor came to power under John Curtin
John Curtin
John Joseph Curtin , Australian politician, served as the 14th Prime Minister of Australia. Labor under Curtin formed a minority government in 1941 after the crossbench consisting of two independent MPs crossed the floor in the House of Representatives, bringing down the Coalition minority...
in 1941, Evatt became Attorney-General and Minister for External Affairs (Foreign Minister).
Evatt joined the diplomatic councils of the allies during World War II, and in 1945 he played a leading role in the founding of the UN. He was President of the U.N. General Assembly in 1948–49, and was prominent in the negotiations which led to the creation of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. He helped draft the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled...
and was also the first chairperson of the Atomic Energy Commission
Australian Atomic Energy Commission
The Australian Atomic Energy Commission was a statutory body of the Australian government.It was established in 1952, replacing the Atomic Energy Policy Committee. In 1981 parts of the Commission were split off to become part of CSIRO, the remainder continuing until 1987, when it was replaced by...
. He became deputy leader of the Labor Party after the 1946 election
Australian federal election, 1946
Federal elections were held in Australia on 28 September 1946. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election...
, supporting Ben Chifley
Ben Chifley
Joseph Benedict Chifley , Australian politician, was the 16th Prime Minister of Australia. He took over the Australian Labor Party leadership and Prime Ministership after the death of John Curtin in 1945, and went on to retain government at the 1946 election, before being defeated at the 1949...
.
Cricket
While in London Evatt acted as the spokesperson for the Australian Board of ControlCricket Australia
Cricket Australia, formerly known as the Australian Cricket Board, is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in Australia. It was originally formed in 1905 as the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket...
and made personal representations to the Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
who were reluctant to send a cricket team to tour Australia so soon after the war. He put forward convincing arguments as to the need to re-establish sporting relations and the financial benefits of the tour and the MCC agreed to the 1946–47 Ashes series
1946–47 Ashes series
The 1946–47 Ashes series consisted of five cricket Test matches, each of six days with five hours play each day and eight ball overs. Unlike pre-war Tests in Australia, matches were not timeless and played to a finish. It formed part of the MCC tour of Australia in 1946–47 and England played its...
. Don Bradman later said that "The quick resumption of Anglo-Australian Tests had justified itself in every way, psychologically, technically, financially".
Leader of the Opposition
In the 1949 electionAustralian federal election, 1949
Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 December 1949. All 121 seats in the House of Representatives, and 42 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, where the single transferable vote was introduced...
, Labor was defeated by Menzies' new Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
. When Ben Chifley
Ben Chifley
Joseph Benedict Chifley , Australian politician, was the 16th Prime Minister of Australia. He took over the Australian Labor Party leadership and Prime Ministership after the death of John Curtin in 1945, and went on to retain government at the 1946 election, before being defeated at the 1949...
(still Labor leader) died suddenly in 1951, Evatt was elected unopposed as his successor. At first his leadership went rather well, and he campaigned successfully against Menzies' attempt
Australian referendum, 1951
The 1951 Australian Referendum was held on 22 September 1951 and sought approval for the federal government to ban the Communist Party of Australia. It was not carried.-Background:...
to amend the Constitution to ban the Communist Party
Communist Party of Australia
The Communist Party of Australia was founded in 1920 and dissolved in 1991; it was succeeded by the Socialist Party of Australia, which then renamed itself, becoming the current Communist Party of Australia. The CPA achieved its greatest political strength in the 1940s and faced an attempted...
. Many convinced anti-Communists in the Labor Party believed this was both bad politics and bad policy, because of the active Communist infiltration of numerous trade unions, and because of the threat to national security posed by communism. Still, none of these Labor men except the firebrand Stan Keon
Stan Keon
Standish Michael "Stan" Keon was an Australian politician who represented the Australian Labor Party in the Federal Parliament from 1949 to 1955 , and who helped establish the Democratic Labor Party.Keon won the House of Representatives seat of Yarra at the 1949 election, succeeding former...
overtly censured Evatt's stance.
Evatt's failure to win the 1954 election
Australian federal election, 1954
Federal elections were held in Australia on 29 May 1954. All 121 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election, no Senate election took place...
led him to blame the Catholic-dominated Industrial Groups
Industrial Groups
The Industrial Groups were groups formed by the Australian Labor Party in the late 1940s, to combat Communist Party influence in the trade unions....
in the party for sabotaging his campaign. He was also convinced (wrongly, as primary sources afterwards revealed) that Menzies had conspired with the security services to bring about the defection of a Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
diplomat (see Petrov Affair
Petrov Affair
The Petrov Affair was a dramatic Cold War spy incident in Australia in April 1954, concerning Vladimir Petrov, Third Secretary of the Soviet embassy in Canberra.- History :...
), and, moreover, to do so with the specific purpose of discrediting Evatt. Documents shown to the commission members were alleged to provide evidence of an extensive Soviet spy ring in Australia, and named (among many others), two of Evatt's staff members. Evatt appeared before the Royal Commission as attorney for his staff members. His cross-examination of a key ASIO operative transformed the commission's hearings and greatly perturbed the government. Almost immediately, the Royal Commission simply withdrew Evatt's leave to appear. Evatt alleged that this denial was this result of judicial bias towards the Menzies government.
After the election, Evatt launched a public attack on "The Groupers", which precipitated a disastrous split in the party
Australian Labor Party split of 1955
The Australian Labor Party split of 1955 was a splintering of the Australian Labor Party along sectarian and ideological lines in the mid 1950s...
, with most of the "Groupers" leaving or being expelled. The disaffected formed the Democratic Labor Party
Democratic Labor Party (historical)
The Democratic Labor Party was an Australian political party that existed from 1955 until 1978.-History:The DLP was formed as a result of a split in the Australian Labor Party that began in 1954. The split was between the party's national leadership, under the then party leader Dr H.V...
, which directed its preferences
Australian electoral system
The Australian electoral system has evolved over nearly 150 years of continuous democratic government, and has a number of distinctive features including compulsory voting, preferential voting and the use of proportional voting to elect the upper house, the Australian Senate.- Compulsory voting...
against Labor at subsequent elections. This, together with an obsessive hatred of Menzies which led him into many tactical errors, caused Labor to be heavily defeated at both the 1955
Australian federal election, 1955
Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 December 1955. All 122 seats in the House of Representatives, and 30 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia Robert Menzies with coalition partner the Country Party...
and 1958 federal elections
Australian federal election, 1958
Federal elections were held in Australia on 22 November 1958. All 122 seats in the House of Representatives, and 32 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election...
. During the 1958 campaign, at which he transferred to the seat of Hunter
Division of Hunter
The Division of Hunter is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It is located in northern rural New South Wales, and encompasses much of the Hunter Valley region, including the towns of Singleton, Maitland, Muswellbrook, Cessnock and Denman...
, Evatt made a dramatic offer to resign as leader if the DLP would return to the party, but the offer was rejected.
NSW Supreme Court Judge
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 that was widely seen as a means of giving him a dignified exit from politics. His career as Chief Justice was undistinguished and erratic, lacking the legal insight he had exhibited as an academic and High Court justice. Tom Hughes, a leading Sydney barrister and former Liberal
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
Attorney-General, has claimed that all of the judgments Evatt gave in this period were co-authored with a judicial colleague.
Breakdown and retirement
Recent biographies of Evatt agree that his behaviour became more eccentric from the late 1950s. Pat Fiske and David McKnight, in their 1995 television documentary Doc, attributed what they described as Evatt's "deteriorating mental functioning" to arteriosclerosisArteriosclerosis
Arteriosclerosis refers to a stiffening of arteries.Arteriosclerosis is a general term describing any hardening of medium or large arteries It should not be confused with "arteriolosclerosis" or "atherosclerosis".Also known by the name "myoconditis" which is...
. In 1962 Evatt suffered a mental breakdown, and was persuaded to retire from the bench. He died in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
in November 1965.
Literary works
During his life he had a varied career as a writer, covering such topics as law and labour history. His book on the politics of the Rum RebellionRum Rebellion
The Rum Rebellion of 1808 was the only successful armed takeover of government in Australia's history. The Governor of New South Wales, William Bligh, was deposed by the New South Wales Corps under the command of Major George Johnston, working closely with John Macarthur, on 26 January 1808, 20...
is still considered highly relevant, although others such as Michael Duffy disagree with Evatt's view. He contributed an article on "Cricket and the British Commonwealth" to the 1949 edition of the Wisden Cricketer's Almanack.
His publications include:
- H. V. Evatt, Australian Labour Leader: The Story Of W.A. Holman and the Labour Movement, 1954
- H. V. Evatt, The King and His Dominion Governors, 1936
- H. V. Evatt, Injustice within the Law. A study of the case of the Dorsetshire Labourers, 1937
- H. V. Evatt, The Royal Prerogative, 1930 (this was his LLD thesis)
- H. V. Evatt, Rum Rebellion: A Study of the Overthrow of Governor Bligh by John Macarthur and the New South Wales Corps, 1943
Honours
- In 1924 Evatt was awarded the degree LLD, for his dissertation on prerogative powers of Governors in the British legal system.
- The Evatt Foundation, a research institute for the labour movement, is named in his honour.
- The suburb of EvattEvatt, Australian Capital TerritoryEvatt is a suburb in the Belconnen district of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. It lies between the suburbs of McKellar, Belconnen, Florey, Melba and Spence. The postcode is 2617. It is named after Herbert Vere Evatt who was a Justice of the High Court and leader of the...
, which lies in the BelconnenBelconnenBelconnen is a district of Canberra, the capital city of Australia, comprising 25 suburbs with 29,900 dwellings housing 82,247 people of the 311,518 people in the Australian Capital Territory ....
district of CanberraCanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, Australian Capital Territory, is also named in his honour. - One of the high schools (Maitland Boy's High School) in his home town of Maitland, was briefly renamed Evatt High School in his honour, before being renamed Maitland High SchoolMaitland High SchoolMaitland High School is situated in East Maitland, New South Wales, Australia on High Street. Established in 1884 and operated by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training, the school currently caters for approximately 800 students from Years 7 to 12, and is situated near its sister...
when it became unisex some years later. - In November 1965, the NSW State Government opened Evatt Park in Lugarno. The park is still used frequently for recreation.
- United Nations Youth Australia runs an annual national schools debating trophy competition named the Evatt Trophy Competition in honor of Evatt.
Further reading
- Buckley, Ken; Dale, Barbara and Reynolds, Wayne (1994), Doc Evatt, Cheshire, Melbourne ISBN 058287498 X
- Crockett, Peter (1993), Evatt: A Life, Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0195535588
- Dalziel, Allan (1967), Evatt. The Enigma, Lansdowne Press, Melbourne
- Makin, NormanNorman MakinNorman John Oswald Makin AO , Australian politician, was a Cabinet minister, Speaker of the House of Representatives and diplomat.-Early life:...
(1961), Federal Labour Leaders, Union Printing, Sydney, New South Wales, Pages 140–145. - Renouf, AlanAlan RenoufAlan Phillip Renouf was a prominent Australian government official during the 1970s. During 1978 and 1979 he was the Australian Ambassador to the United States...
(1983), Let Justice Be Done. The Foreign Policy of Dr H.V. Evatt, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia (Queensland) ISBN 0702218936 - Tennant, KylieKylie TennantKathleen Kylie Tennant AO was an Australian novelist, playwright, short-story writer, critic, biographer and historian.-Life and career:Tennant was born in Manly, New South Wales; she was educated at Brighton College in Manly and Sydney University, though she left without graduating...
(1970), Evatt. Politics and Justice, Angus and Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0207125333