The first woman to be appointed to the High Court, Mary Gaudron KC, has passed away at the age of 83.
Ms Gaudron, from Moree in New South Wales, served as a Justice of the Court from 1987 to 2003.
She sat her last exams for her law degree at the University of Sydney while nine months’ pregnant. She graduated in 1965 with first class honours and won the University Medal.
When some firms told her they did not employ women as articled clerks, she joined the Commonwealth Public Service, but was forced to resign when she married, under the rules at the time.
Ms Gaudron was called to the Bar in 1968, and in 1972 was the first woman to be appointed to the Council of the New South Wales Bar. She was appointed as a Queen’s Counsel in 1981.
Before her appointment to the High Court, Ms Gaudron was the Deputy President of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission from 1974 to 1980, the youngest federal judge at the time.
She was then chair of the New South Wales Legal Services Commission from 1979 to 1980, and the first female Solicitor-General of New South Wales from 1981 to 1987.
She then moved on the High Court, where she helped decide some of the nation’s most significant decisions. These included the 1992 Mabo and 1996 Wik judgment about indigenous land rights, and the 1997 Croome judgment about the decriminalisation of homosexuality.
Following her retirement from the High Court, Ms Gaudron served as a member of the International Labour Organisation’s Administrative Tribunal from 2003 to 2012.
“Throughout her distinguished career, Ms Gaudron advanced the role of women in the legal profession and in the judiciary by her advocacy as well as her example,” the High Court said in a statement.
“As a Justice of the High Court for 16 years, her impact on its institutional character and contribution to its work were profound.”
Governor-General Sam Mostyn said Ms Gaudron broke new ground and inspired generations of Australians to pursue careers in the law and public service.
“From her upbringing in Moree NSW to her advocacy for equal pay and her distinguished service on the nation’s highest court, Justice Gaudron brought her fierce intellect, integrity, compassion and a deep commitment to justice to every role she held,” Ms Mostyn said.
“Her legacy endures in the Australian legal system and in the many people who continue to follow the path she helped forge.”
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said the late judge was “a trailblazer of remarkable intellect who helped reshape the legal profession in Australia”.
“Justice Gaudron broke barriers at every stage of an extraordinary legal career, and we will remember her contributions for decades to come,” Ms Rowland said.
A ceremonial sitting of the Court to honour Ms Gaudron will be held.
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