Neal Macrossan
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Neal William Macrossan (1889–1955) was a lawyer, judge and Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of Queensland The Supreme Court of Queensland is the highest court in the Australian State of Queensland. It was formerly the Brisbane Supreme Court, in the colony of Queensland. The original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court allows its trial division to ...
.


Early years

Macrossan was born on 27 April 1889 at Lutwyche in
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
. He was the eighth and youngest child of Australian politician
John Murtagh Macrossan John Murtagh Macrossan (1832 – 30 March 1891) was an Australian politician of the late 19th century in the parliament of Queensland. Early and parliamentary life Macrossan was born in County Donegal, Ireland. He moved to the colony of Vic ...
and Bridget Macrossan (née Queely). He was educated at the Normal School in
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
. There he won a scholarship and attended at St. Joseph's Nudgee College. In 1904 whilst studying at St Joseph's, he was awarded the T J Byrnes medal for obtaining the highest pass mark in Queensland. In 1906 he again topped the State at the senior level. He also won a silver medal for Greek and was selected as the
Rhodes scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...
for Queensland in 1907. Macrossan studied at
Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...
. He obtained a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
with honours in 1910 and obtained a
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
in 1914 from Oxford. The
University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...
awarded him a Bachelor of Arts Ad Eundem Gradum on 1 June 1911 to mark the occasion of the founding of the
University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...
, although the Queensland Supreme Court Library notes it as a Masters of Arts. On his return to Queensland, he obtained employment in the Queensland Crown Solicitor's Office. He passed the Barristers’ Board admission examination and he was called to the Bar on 27 August 1912. He unsuccessfully stood for election to the
Legislative Assembly of Queensland The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly ...
in 1915 for the seat of Cairns, where he stood as a candidate for the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
. In Brisbane he married Eileen Elizabeth Beirne on 14 December 1921. He purchased Glen Alpine in 1931 in
Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...
. Glen Alpine had the first domestic swimming pool built in the Toowoomba area. The house and gardens are now heritage classified by the Queensland Government. Macrossan represented ex-premier William McCormack in the Mungana Mines case. McCormack was tried with ex-treasurer
Ted Theodore Edward Granville Theodore (29 December 1884 – 9 February 1950) was an Australian politician who served as Premier of Queensland from 1919 to 1925, as leader of the Australian Labor Party (Queensland Branch), state Labor Party. He later entere ...
and two others. The case was instituted following a Royal Commission on 4 July 1930 in the purchase of the mines. The royal commission had made a finding that all the accused had acted dishonestly in the purchase of the mine. The conspiracy case commenced in the Supreme Court on 22 July 1931 and resulted in a jury verdict in favour of McCormack and Theodore on 25 August. Macrossan also appeared in the Constitutional case of Peanut Board v. Rockhampton Harbour Board heard in the High Court of Australia. The case concerned whether the Queensland Government could control peanut sales in Queensland through the Peanut Board. Macrossan appeared as junior for the Board. He was unsuccessful in arguing against the marketing law and the law was held to be unconstitutional. Macrossan lectured at the University of Queensland on
Pleading In law as practiced in countries that follow the English models, a pleading is a formal written statement of one party's claims or defenses in response to another party's complaint(s) in a civil action. The parties' pleadings in a case define t ...
and
Practice Practice or practise may refer to: Education and learning * Practice (learning method), a method of learning by repetition * Phantom practice, phenomenon in which a person's abilities continue to improve, even without practicing * Practice-based ...
until his appointment to the bench. He also established an endowment to the University for the Macrossan lectures.


Judicial appointment

Macrossan was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court on 29 June 1940. He was appointed senior puisne judge five days later in front of more senior judges. Macrossan acted as chief justice on two occasions, before being appointed to the office on 25 April 1946. He became the second son to be appointed to that office following in the steps of his brother Hugh Denis Macrossan. As chief justice in 1947, one of the early cases heard by Macrossan at first instance was a matter concerning the dispute over the purchase of a
lottery ticket A lottery (or lotto) is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find som ...
. The defendants had won £6000 in a "Golden Casket" Lottery. The plaintiff claimed that the ticket was purchased in a syndicate of three, being himself and the two defendants. The case turned on the credibility of the plaintiff and the jury found in the plaintiff's favour. Macrossan awarded £2000 to the plaintiff. The publicity surrounding the case caused lottery agents to come forward and produce new evidence that showed that the plaintiff couldn't have entered into a syndicate on the date he stated, as the tickets hadn't been printed before that date. An appeal to the High Court seeking to overturn that decision was unsuccessful and Macrossan's decision stood. In 1954 his wife Eileen died. She is buried in Nudgee Cemetery. In 1955 Macrossan heard an appeal from a decision of the Objectionable Literature Board. The board had classified books bearing titles such as ''Real Love'', ''Romance Story'' and ''Darling Romance'' as "objectionable" material. Macrossan described the publications as emphasising "the thesis that an acceptable means of achieving this ideal
f marriage F, or f, is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet and many modern alphabets influenced by it, including the modern English alphabet and the alphabets of all other modern western European languages. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounce ...
is a casual acquaintance made by a young girl with a man hitherto a complete stranger to her the ardour of whose embraces and kisses provides the assurance of the constancy of his affection". The court found that the materials was "what they considered to be a tendency to corrupt members of an age group of females described as unstable adolescents." However, on appeal to the High Court, a majority ruling overturned the decision. Macrossan was a warden of the council of the University of Queensland, president of the Playground (and Recreation) Association of Queensland, president of the
Twelfth Night Theatre The Twelfth Night Theatre is an established Australian entertainment venue located in Bowen Hills, in Brisbane, Queensland. Many notable actors, both international and Australian, have performed there. The Twelfth Night Complex includes the ma ...
Company, and also President of the
Royal Automobile Club of Queensland The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland Limited (RACQ) is a mutual organisation and Queensland's largest club (by membership), providing services including roadside assistance, insurance, banking and travel to its approximately 1.7 million m ...
. He died on 30 December 1955 in South Brisbane and following a
state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...
was buried in
Nudgee Cemetery Nudgee Cemetery & Crematorium is a large Roman Catholic cemetery at 493 St Vincents Road, Nudgee, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The cemetery opened in 1867 and is still operating. Over 31,000 people are buried there. Services The cemetery ...
.Macrossan, Neal William (1889–1955)
Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...
. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
His older brother Hugh Denis Macrossan was also a chief justice of Queensland as well as his nephew
John Murtagh Macrossan John Murtagh Macrossan (1832 – 30 March 1891) was an Australian politician of the late 19th century in the parliament of Queensland. Early and parliamentary life Macrossan was born in County Donegal, Ireland. He moved to the colony of Vic ...
(son of Macrossan's brother Vincent).


See also

*
Judiciary of Australia The judiciary of Australia comprises judges who sit in federal courts and courts of the States and Territories of Australia. The High Court of Australia sits at the apex of the Australian court hierarchy as the ultimate court of appeal on matter ...
* List of Judges of the Supreme Court of Queensland *


References


Sources

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macrossan, Neal Chief justices of Queensland Judges of the Supreme Court of Queensland 20th-century Australian judges Australian Rhodes Scholars Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Burials at Nudgee Cemetery 1889 births 1955 deaths People educated at St Joseph's College, Nudgee