Source : Perth Now news
Australia’s first female judge appointed to the High Court of Australia, Mary Gaudron, has died aged 83.
Her death was confirmed on Sunday evening.
Ms Gaudron was born in the northwest NSW town of Moree in 1943 to working class parents, and was awarded a scholarship at the University of Sydney in 1960.
Ms Gaudron began practising defamation and industrial law before becoming the first woman appointed to the NSW Bar Council in 1972.
In 1987 she made history by becoming the first female judge at the High Court of Australia, aged 44.
There she was one of the deciding votes in the 1992 landmark native title Mabo case, where she and fellow High Court judge William Deane said the past treatment of Indigenous Australians was “the darkest aspect of the history of this country”.
She stepped down from the High Court in 2003, and served on the International Labour Organisation’s Administrative Tribunal in Geneva until 2012.
In a statement, Governor-General Sam Mostyn said Ms Gaudron’s “distinguished career transformed Australia’s legal landscape”.
“As the first woman appointed to the High Court of Australia, and the only woman Justice in the Court’s first century, she broke new ground and inspired generations of Australians to pursue careers in the law and public service,” she said in a statement.
“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.
“Her legacy endures in the Australian legal system and in the many people who continue to follow the path she helped forge.
“The Governor-General extends her condolences to Justice Gaudron’s family, friends, colleagues and all who admired her remarkable contribution to Australia.”
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said Ms Gaudron’s career was “defined by a series of firsts“.
“She was the first woman to take silk in New South Wales, the first woman to serve as state Solicitor-General and, in 1987, the first woman appointed to the High Court of Australia,” she said in a statement.
“Justice Gaudron broke barriers at every stage of an extraordinary legal career, and we will remember her contributions for decades to come.”
The Justices of Australia extended “their sincere sympathies to Ms Gaudron’s family”.
“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 joint statement read.
“As a Justice of the High Court for 16 years, her impact on its institutional character and contribution to its work were profound.”
Ms Gaudron had three children – two daughters, Danielle and Julienne, and one son, Patrick.
