Sir Francis Gerard Brennan (22 May 1928 – 1 June 2022) was an Australian lawyer and jurist who served as the 10th Chief Justice of Australia. As a judge in the High Court of Australia, he wrote the lead judgement on the Mabo decision, which gave rise to the Native Title Act.

Early life and education

Brennan was born on May 22, 1928 in Rockhampton,

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. He was the son of Frank Tenison Brennan, a Labor Party politician, lawyer and judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland. He was raised as, and continued to be, a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and has said: "Egalitarianism, tolerance and the respect for conscience are the practical manifestations of faith, hope and charity."

Career

Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser appointed Brennan to the court in 1981. As a High Court judge, Brennan wrote the lead judgement on the Mabo decision, which overturned the doctrine of '' terra nullius'' used to justify the Crown's sovereignty over Australia, replacing it with the doctrine of native title, and thus protecting Aboriginal people's claims to land. This decision eventually gave rise to the Native Title Act. Brennan is also notable for his landmark judgement in '' Waltons v Maher'', which established equitable estoppel as a cause of action in itself. He was appointed by prime minister Paul Keating to become the 10th Chief Justice of Australia in 1995.

After retirement

Following his retirement from the High Court, Brennan was a non-permanent judge of the

Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (HKCFA or CFA) is the final appellate court of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, upon the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, replacing the Judicial Committee of t ...

(2000-2012) and an external judge of the Supreme Court of Fiji (1999–2000), chancellor of the

University of Technology Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Although its origins are said to trace back to the 1830s, the university was founded in its current form in 1988. As of 2021 ...

(1998–2004) and Foundation Scientia Professor of Law at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...

(1998). He was an honorary visiting professor of law at the

. In June 2021, Brennan intervened in a public debate over a family of asylum seekers, supporting the family with a letter in major newspapers. It begins: :Are other Australians ashamed, as I am? How can Australia, proud of our freedoms, respectful of all our peoples, and insistent on human dignity, inflict cruelty on Australian children as a means of achieving a goal of government policy?

Personal life

In 1953, Brennan married Patricia O'Hara. Lady Brennan died on 3 September 2019. Their first child, Frank Brennan, born in 1954, became a Jesuit

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

, a

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lawyer and an advocate for the rights of Aboriginal peoples. He is known for his involvement in the Wik debate when Paul Keating referred to him as "the meddling priest". Their second child, Madeline Brennan QC, is a barrister in Brisbane and has served as a director of a number of Catholic health and education providers. Their third child Dr Anne Brennan is a psychiatrist who came to prominence in the Barrett Adolescent Centre Commission of Inquiry. Their fourth child Tom Brennan SC is a barrister in Sydney.A son Paul was CEO of Polynovo Ltd an ASX listed biotechnology manufacturer until his resignation in 2021. A daughter, Bernadette, is the author of renowned literary biographies ''This Writing Life: Helen Garner and her Work''; and ''Leaping into Waterfalls: The Enigmatic Gillian Mears.'' Brennan died on 1 June 2022 in Sydney, aged 94, two days before Mabo Day and the 30th anniversary of the Mabo decision.

Honours

In 1981, Brennan was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire and, in 1988, appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in recognition of his service to the law. Brennan was awarded honorary degrees by the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb ...

(Hon. LL.D.), the University of Technology, Sydney (Hon. LL.D.), the University of Queensland (Hon. LL.D.), Griffith University (Hon. D.Univ.),

Central Queensland University Central Queensland University (alternatively known as CQUniversity) is an Australian public university based in central Queensland. CQUniversity is the only Australian university with a campus presence in every mainland state. Its main campu ...

(Hon. D.Litt.), Trinity College Dublin (Hon. LL.D.) and the Australian Catholic University (Hon LL.D). He was a life fellow of the Australian Academy of Law. He served as chancellor of the University of Technology, Sydney, from 1998 to 2004. In 2013, Brennan was awarded the

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by the

Chief Executive of Hong Kong The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and head of the Government of Hong Kong. The position was created to replace the office of governor of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brennan, Gerard 1928 births 2022 deaths Australian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of Australia Chief justices of Australia Justices of the High Court of Australia Judges of the Federal Court of Australia Judges of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory Justices of the Court of Final Appeal (Hong Kong) Fellows of the Australian Academy of Law Australian judges on the courts of Hong Kong Australian judges on the courts of Fiji Supreme Court of Fiji justices Australian King's Counsel People from Rockhampton Australian Roman Catholics Australian people of Irish descent Australian people of German descent Judges of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory 20th-century Australian judges Judges of the Commonwealth Industrial Court