Advertise on podcast: Selden Society lecture series Australia

Domestic and family violence is a national emergency with a long and troubling history. This lecture draws upon a longitudinal study to map the contours of interpersonal violence in Australian history and the criminal law’s responses. It examines how domestic and family violence was recognised and responded to across a 100-year period (1855–1954), how this compared to other forms of violence, and where historical lessons may reveal new pathways for prevention and response. About the speaker Dr Andy Kaladelfos (They/Them) is Senior Lecturer in Criminology in the School of Law, Society and Criminology, University of New South Wales, and the Co-Convenor of the Gendered Violence Research Network. Originally trained in history, Andy's research is interdisciplinary, using methods and approaches from historical studies, legal studies, and criminology to research sexual and gender-based violence.   Support the show

Prior to the enactment of the Australia Act 1986 (Cth) and the Australia Act 1986 (UK), some Queensland court matters were appealed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council for final determination. What were hearings like in this forum before this avenue of appeal was abolished? In this lecture, Sandy Thompson KC will share his experiences appearing as counsel in 1985 and 1986, the latter (Coast Securities No. 9 Pty Ltd v Bondoukou Pty Ltd) being the last Queensland appeal to Her Majesty in Council. He will also trace the legislative history of appeals to the Privy Council and their eventual abolition in 1986. About the speaker Gavin Alexander (Sandy) Thompson KC is a commercial barrister who practices in Queensland and interstate. He is a former president of the Bar Association of Queensland and a former Solicitor-General for the State of Queensland. Sandy was called to the Bar in 1983 and took silk in 1998. He appeared as junior counsel in two appeals to the Privy Council. Chair: The Hon Justice Susan (Sue) Brown Support the show

The Communist Party case is one of the High Court’s most important decisions. In a high-profile legal battle, the argument before the Court pitted a future Chief Justice of Australia, Garfield Barwick KC, against the then Leader of the Opposition, Bert Evatt KC, to determine the constitutionality of the Communist Party Dissolution Act 1950. It reaffirmed that the Commonwealth cannot simply assert a threat to national security and legislate beyond constitutional limits. It placed constitutional principle above political fear and remains a cornerstone of Australian rule of law doctrine. The case shaped later jurisprudence on the defence power, emergency powers, and the separation of judicial and executive authority. About the speaker The Hon Justice Glenn Martin AM was recently appointed as a Reserve Judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland. His honour was formerly a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland (2007–2025) and Senior Judge Administrator (2022–25). He previously led both the Australian Bar Association and the Bar Association of Queensland. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2013 for significant service to the law. Chair: The Hon Justice Thomas Bradley Support the show

On the night of 19 June 1904, Christopher Stansfeld Robinson—the first Australian chief judicial officer in what became the Territory of Papua—died by suicide outside Government House in Port Moresby. Behind this tragedy lay earlier tragedies, each rooted in the clash of civilisations that marked the colonial experience for what has become the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, for the Commonwealth of Australia and for a shared colonial predecessor, the United Kingdom.  Marking the 50th anniversary of Papua New Guinea’s independence, the Honourable Justice John Logan RFD examines the causes of Robinson’s death and traces recurring themes in the development of judicial power in Papua New Guinea. His Honour suggests these themes offer valuable insights into Australia’s closest neighbour.  About the speaker Justice John Alexander Logan holds economics and law degrees from the University of Queensland and was admitted to the Queensland Bar in 1980. He worked in the Commonwealth Crown Solicitor’s office, commenced private practice at the Queensland Bar in 1984, and was appointed senior counsel in 1999. He joined the Federal Court in 2007, is currently the President of the Defence Force Discipline Appeals Tribunal, and was Deputy President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for ten years. Commissioned into the Army Reserve in 1976, Justice Logan rose to the rank of Major in the Australian Intelligence Corps and received the Reserve Force Decoration in 1993 in respect of his military service.  Since 2011, Justice Logan has served as a judge of the Supreme and National Courts of Papua New Guinea. Support the show

This lecture explains broadly the fundamental changes to divorce and matrimonial causes law introduced by the Family Law Act in 1975. It also demonstrates how the many changes to the Act over the past 50 years have transformed family law as much as, if not more than, the original changes introduced in 1975. About the speaker The Hon Mary Finn worked in private legal practice in England and Brisbane after being admitted to the Queensland Bar in December 1969. She was a research assistant to the first Parliamentary Inquiry into the Family Law Act before working in the Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department on amendments to the Family Law Act and the creation of the child support scheme.  The Hon Mary Finn was appointed a Judge of the Family Court of Australia in 1990 and to the Appeal Division in 1993. She was the Senior Judge and Judge Administrator of that Division from 2004 until her retirement in 2016. She has been a member of the Family Law Council and the Board of the Institute of Family Studies. Support the show

The first Selden Society lecture for 2025, Recasting the law on a more merciful basis: juvenile justice then and now, will be presented by Dr Robyn Blewer from the Griffith Law School. In 1897, a Perth newspaper reported on the distressed state of two young boys who’d been remanded in custody in the local watchhouse for stealing a pigeon: ‘the punishment, even if guilty ... must have been greater than many a women beater or hardened thief suffers. If the system is to blame, it is high time that it was recast on a more merciful basis.’ This lecture explores the youth crime crisis of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when the age of criminal responsibility, detention of children in watchhouses, and the housing crisis were subjects of debate and potential reform for a more compassionate approach to juvenile justice. Political, legislative and judicial responses were cohesive and introduced children's courts across the country, contributing to the 150-year legacy shaping our conversations today. About the speaker Robyn is a lecturer at Griffith Law School, specialising in criminal trial procedure and vulnerable witness testimony. She completed a Master of Criminology and Criminal Justice in 2012, and her doctoral research focused on Australia’s child witness law as part of The Prosecution Project. In 2019, Robyn became Director of the Griffith University Innocence Project. She also teaches Criminal Law courses and has experience in commercial litigation and volunteering with Salvos Legal Humanitarian. Support the show

Sir Gerard Brennan has been one of Australia’s most important barristers and judges since World War II. As a judge, he made many significant contributions to Australian jurisprudence. The most consequential of these was the leading judgment in the High Court’s decision in Mabo recognising the rights of occupation of Australia’s indigenous peoples.   A few short years later in the Wik case, Brennan CJ dissented from the Court’s decision that native title had not been extinguished by grants of pastoral leases under Colonial and State legislation.   The key to understanding the fundamental consistency of these two judgments lies in an appreciation of Brennan’s fidelity to the constraints upon judicial decision making required by the constitutional separation of legislative and judicial power. About the speaker The Honourable Patrick Keane AC KC is a graduate of the University of Queensland and Oxford University where he was awarded numerous academic prizes and accolades. He was admitted to the Queensland Bar in 1977, appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1988 and was Solicitor-General for Queensland from 1992 to 2005.  In 2003 His Honour was awarded the Centenary Medal in recognition of his contributions to the legal profession. He was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland Court of Appeal in 2005.  The Hon Keane was appointed as the third Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia in 2010, and served thereafter as a justice of the High Court of Australia from 2013 until retirement in 2022. In 2023, he was appointed a Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong. View the lecture. Support the show

It is 100 years since women were allowed to serve on juries in Queensland, the first state in Australia to introduce what was then a radical reform. What are the challenges today for the composition of juries to reflect the judgment of a defendant’s peers and reflect modern democratic values? About the speaker The Hon Roslyn Atkinson AO is a graduate of The University of Queensland—Bachelor of Arts (Honours) (1970), Bachelor of Educational Studies (1975) and Bachelor of Laws (Honours I) (1985).  The Hon Roslyn Atkinson was the recipient of the Ruthning Memorial Scholarship (1984) and several prizes, including the Wilkinson Memorial Prize (1984) for obtaining the highest results in law courses taken over the program of study. She was also awarded the James Archibald Douglas Prize (1985) for highest results in the Bar Practice Course.  In 1986 the Hon Roslyn Atkinson was Associate to the Hon Sir Gerard Brennan of the High Court of Australia. After being admitted as a barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1987, the Hon Roslyn Atkinson commenced practice at the Bar.  The Hon Roslyn Atkinson has served as a member (1992–94) and inaugural President of the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Tribunal (1994–97), Hearing Commissioner of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (1994–97) and Chair of the Queensland Law Reform Commission (2002–2014).  In 2015 the Hon Roslyn Atkinson was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to the judiciary and to law reform in Queensland, through contributions to the legal profession and to promoting awareness of issues of injustice and inequality in Australia and internationally.  The Hon Roslyn Atkinson was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1998 and retired in 2018.  Post retirement, she has had a variety of roles including being a Commissioner with the Disability Royal Commission, Chair of Screen Queensland and is currently a member of the Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry.   Support the show

Sir Charles Lilley (1827–97) was a towering figure in politics and law in colonial Queensland, but his final years were dogged by controversy.   In October 1892, Sir Charles announced his intention to resign as second Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland (1879–93). The catalyst was his behaviour throughout the 57-day civil trial of Queensland Investment and Land Mortgage Co Ltd v Grimley. Leading up to his resignation, Sir Charles increasingly eschewed norms of judicial detachment. Grimley was the final straw.   This lecture examines the Grimley affair and considers the extent to which, along with his behaviour in other proceedings of the time, it brought into question Sir Charles’ ethics as a judge.  About the speaker Dr Sarah McKibbin is a Lecturer in Law at the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba, where she teaches, researches and publishes in legal history and private international law. Dr McKibbin is the lead author of A Legal History for Australia (Hart Publishing, 2021). Read the paper.  View the lecture.  Support the show

A statement praising ‘conscientious honest lawyers’ was published in a Brisbane newspaper in 1874. At that time, the public image of lawyers—barristers, as well as solicitors—was poor. For decades Queensland Parliaments were inclined to agree. The creation of the incorporated Queensland Law Society was seen as an important step in improving the reputation of lawyers. In this lecture, historian Helen Gregory presents the challenges which needed to be addressed, and how government was persuaded to pass the necessary legislation, taking into account the expectations of solicitors, Parliament and the public. The lecture is opened by the Hon Justice Williams (Supreme Court of Queensland). The Queensland Law Society Vice President, Rebecca Fogerty, also gave a short speech before the lecture and officially open the new SCLQ and QLS exhibition, A force for good: past, present and future. Learn more about the exhibition here. About the speaker Helen Gregory was born in Brisbane and is a historian specialising in Queensland's history and cultural heritage. She has taught in the Department of History at the University of Queensland, the School of Built Environment at the Queensland University of Technology and was Director of Cultural Heritage at the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency. Read the paper. View the lecture. Support the show

George Rogers Harding (1838–1895) was the 5th Judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland and is regarded as one of Queensland’s finest civil lawyers, whose rigorous analytical approach helped to establish the reputation of the Supreme Court.  He is also known as one of Queensland’s most influential bibliophiles and was instrumental in developing a fine collection for the Supreme Court Library. After his death, his extensive personal library provided the foundation for what became the State Library of Queensland.     This Selden Society lecture examines Harding’s personal and professional life and legacy within the context of Queensland’s developing legal community. About the speaker Mr John McKenna KC is a long-standing member of the Selden Society, who has a particular interest in the development of the Queensland courts and legal profession in the 19th century. He is the author of Supreme Court of Queensland: A Concise History (2012). View the lecture. Support the show

Many consider Lord Denning (1899–1999) to be the most important English judge of the 20th century. His witty and trenchant judgments are read by law students and cited by legal texts and lawyers in the United Kingdom as well as Australia, Canada and beyond. The Honourable James Douglas uses this lecture to examine Lord Denning’s life and judicial philosophy, as well as Denning’s willingness to reconsider precedent and reform legal principles. About the speaker The Honourable James Douglas QC was educated at The University of Queensland, graduating Bachelor of Arts (1971) and Bachelor of Laws (1973) and awarded the Comparative Law Prize in that year. He served as an associate to his father, the Honourable James Archibald Douglas (1972), and to Sir Harry Gibbs on the High Court of Australia (1973–74). He was admitted to the Bar in 1973 and undertook study at Emmanuel College Cambridge, graduating Bachelor of Laws (1976) and Diploma in Legal Studies (1979). He was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 2003 and retired in 2020. Read the speaker notes Watch the lecture Support the show Support the show

Sir Frederick Jordan served as Chief Justice of New South Wales from 1934–1949. His vigorous defence of the rule of law during World War II sometimes put him at odds with the governments of the day and the High Court of Australia, but his fiercely written judgments remain relevant and continue to be cited even into this new century.  Although Sir Frederick declined an appointment to the High Court offered by Prime Minister Robert Menzies at the urging of Sir Owen Dixon, his law school teaching, publications and the lasting impact of his judgments give him a serious claim as Australia’s most influential jurist.  Sir Frederick’s extra-judicial writings reveal his fluency in six languages and expansive and opinionated scholarship in art, literature, religion and popular culture. About the speaker The Hon Keith Mason AC KC was Solicitor-General and President of the Court of Appeal of New South Wales. He is now an adjunct professor at the University of New South Wales. He’s explored biographical aspects of Australia’s rich legal history in his two legal miscellanies (Lawyers Then and Now; Old Law, New Law) and his biography of Sir Frederick Jordan, Fire Under the Frost. Read the speaker notes. Watch the lecture. Support the show

In our latest episode, Dr Andrew Stumer and Professor Emeritus Kay Saunders AO examine two Queensland criminal cases from the late 19th century.   With the rapid expansion of sugar production in Queensland in the second half of the 19th century, new sources of labour were sought. In 1871, the Supreme Court of Queensland upheld the conviction of Captain Coath of the schooner Jason for kidnapping nine South Sea Islanders to force them into servitude. Supporters of Captain Coath insisted the conviction was obtained through lies told by disgruntled crew members and a Government Inspector. Opponents of South Sea Islander labour pointed to the case as a symptom of widespread abuse.  In 1884, the crew of the Burns Philp vessel Hopeful was charged with the murder and kidnapping of South Sea Islanders. An enormous public outcry ensued when the captain and mate were found guilty and sentenced to death. The following year, Premier Samuel Griffith, a loudly outspoken critic of the plantation system, established the Royal Commission to Enquire into Kidnapping in New Guinea Waters. It revealed the widespread extent of assault, kidnapping and deception by crews of ships participating in the labour trade. View the lecture recording. About the speakers Dr Andrew Stumer is a barrister in practice in Brisbane, Queensland. He is the author of The Presumption of Innocence: Evidential and Human Rights Perspectives (Hart Publishing, 2010). View Andrew's paper. Emeritus Professor Kay Saunders AO FASSA FRSA FRHS (London) has published widely on global indentured labour systems and slavery. Her most recent project, conducted with Dr Denver Beanland AM, concerns a re-appraisal of Sir Samuel Griffith's political career. View Kay's speaking notes.  Support the show

Sir Ross Cranston will draw on themes in his recent book, Making commercial law through practice 1830–1970 (Cambridge UP, 2021), emphasising the Australian dimension.  He will examine three areas: markets, agency and sales, to show that although the common law provided the backdrop to commercial activity, it was in practice a flexible tool to achieve what the parties wanted.    About the speaker   Sir Ross Cranston is professor of law at the London School of Economics, where he was previously Cassel professor of commercial law. After graduating from the University of Queensland with university medals in history and political science and law, he undertook post-graduate work at Harvard and Oxford. He has been an MP, Solicitor General for England and Wales and a High Court judge for England and Wales.   Watch the lecture.  Support the show