Charles Kennedy Comans,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, QC (born 21 October 1914) was a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

, the former First Parliamentary Counsel of the Commonwealth from 1972 - 1977. Comans died in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

on 12 September 2012, aged 97.

Early life and education

Comans was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Victoria,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, the only son of Michael and Kate Comans. He was educated at Christian Brothers’ College, Victoria Parade, Melbourne. There, he won a scholarship to attend St Kevin’s High School. He went on to study

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

Melbourne University The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state of Victoria. Its ...

and at 21, he was then the youngest person to achieve a master of laws from the university.

Career

Comans was admitted to the Victorian Bar in 1936, and first worked in the Taxation Office in Canberra, before becoming a legal officer in the Attorney-General’s Department, a post he held between 1938 and 1948. He went on to become the First Assistant Parliamentary Draftsman in 1949, Second Parliamentary Counsel in 1970 and First Parliamentary Counsel in 1972, a post he held for five years until 1977. His career spanned the offices of 14 Prime Ministers and 16 Attorneys-General of the Commonwealth. He was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in 1965, the Commonwealth Queen's Counsel in 1974, and

in 1977. The Charles Comans meeting room in the Office of Parliamentary Counsel in Canberra was named in his honour.Michael Kirby, 'Comans, Charles Kennedy (1914–2012)', Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/comans-charles-kennedy-15946/text27175, accessed 17 March 2013. Some of Comans' more notable work was the drafting of the Double Dissolution Proclamation read for then Governor-General of Australia, Sir John Kerr, on the steps of Old Parliament House on 11 November 1975. This had been drafted on instruction by the Governor-General on conditions of secrecy from Prime Minister Whitlam and dissolved the then Whitlam government and appointed Malcolm Fraser as a caretaker Prime Minister. Comans work also included the Marriage Act in 1961, the Trade Practice Act in 1974 the Family Law Act in 1975 and the Darwin Reconstruction Bill after the devastating cyclone Tracey that hit Darwin in late 1974. Comans has a room named for him at the Office of Parliamentary Counsel and hi
history has been recorded
at the National Library

Personal life

Comans married Nancy Button in August 1944; they had three sons - Michael (now deceased), Peter (now deceased) and Philip - and one daughter - Leigh. Apart from his roles in the Commonwealth offices, he was a lecturer at Canberra University College between 1945 and 1948.

References

External links

*Obituary o
Comans, Charles Kennedy
from

the Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

*Eulogy o
Comans, Charles Kennedy
by Philip Comans, his son {{DEFAULTSORT:Comans, Charles Kennedy Lawyers from Melbourne 1914 births 2012 deaths Australian King's Counsel Commanders_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire