Richard Cecil Cook (2 March 1902 – 29 July 1977), was an Australian judge and a member of the Industrial Commission of New South Wales.

Early life

Always known by his second given name, Cecil Cook was born in

Marrickville, New South Wales Marrickville is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Marrickville is located south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the largest suburb in the Inner West Council local govern ...

, one of nine children of Sir

Joseph Cook Sir Joseph Cook, (7 December 1860 – 30 July 1947) was an Australian politician who served as the sixth Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1913 to 1914. He was the leader of the Liberal Party from 1913 to 1917, after earlier servi ...

, a politician and Prime Minister of Australia from 1913 to 1914, and

Dame Mary Cook Dame Mary Cook (née Turner; – 24 September 1950) was the wife of Australian Prime Minister, Sir Joseph Cook. Biography Early years Mary Turner was 22 years old and had been a schoolteacher for eight years when she married Joseph Cook in 188 ...

. He attended

Newington College , motto_translation = To Faith Add Knowledge , location = Inner West and Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = A ...

(1912–1920) and the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one o ...

, where he graduated with a

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1924.

Legal career

After graduating Cook worked as a solicitor until 1928 and then read for the

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (un ...

. He was a

barrister-at-law A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and givin ...

until 1954.Who's Who in Australia 1977 (Melb, 1977) pp251

Judicial career

Cook was appointed as an additional member Industrial Commission of New South Wales in 1954 and as a judge of the commission on 13 May 1955. He was a judge until his retirement on 1 March 1972.

Wool trade report

In the 1950s, Cook was appointed by the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

under the monopolies act to inquire into the wool trade.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Richard Cecil 1902 births 1977 deaths 20th-century Australian judges People educated at Newington College University of Sydney alumni Children of prime ministers of Australia