Richard Elgin McGarvie, (21 May 1926 – 24 May 2003) was a judge in the

Supreme Court of Victoria The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in 1852, it is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited and inherent jurisdiction within the state. The Supreme Court compri ...

from 1976 to 1992, and the 24th

Governor of Victoria The governor of Victoria is the representative of Monarchy of Australia, the monarch, currently King Charles III, in the Australian state of Victoria (state), Victoria. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the premier of V ...

from 1992 to 1997.

Early life

McGarvie was born and brought up on his parents' dairy farm at Pomborneit East in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. After finishing first place at Camperdown High School, he entered the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

in 1944, training at and serving on the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

, . The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

ended before he saw active service. He served with the

British Commonwealth Occupation Force The British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) was the British Commonwealth taskforce consisting of Australian, British, Indian, and New Zealander military forces in occupied Japan, from 1946 until the end of occupation in 1952. At its pe ...

in Japan and was discharged as an able seaman in 1946. McGarvie joined the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

in 1949 and took a leading role in the dismissal of its Victorian socialist-left dominated Central Executive by bringing about federal intervention.

Legal career

McGarvie studied law at the

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

and graduated in 1950, winning the Supreme Court Prize for the top honours student of the year. Joining the Victorian Bar in 1952, he became

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

, chair of the Victorian Bar Council (1973–1975), Treasurer of Law Council of Australia (1974–1976), and

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora, Victoria, Bundoora. The university was established in 1 ...

(1981–1992). McGarvie was appointed to the

on 1 June 1976, resigning all political affiliations, and served as a judge until 22 April 1992. He was appointed

from 1992 to 1997.

Constitutional influence

Author of the McGarvie Model, McGarvie was an appointed delegate to Constitutional Convention on an Australian republic in February 1998,Vizard, Steve, ''Two Weeks in Lilliput: Bear Baiting and Backbiting At the Constitutional Convention'' (Penguin, 1998, ) and initiated the 2001 Corowa conference to find common ground among republicans after the

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

defeat in 1999. He took the unusual position of making contributions to republicanism, without directly supporting the broader republican movement. He promoted his own model and at the 1998 convention argued the provision for two-thirds parliamentary dismissal of a president was unworkable.

References

External links

Full Text of ''Democracy'' by R. E. McGarvie

Supreme Court of Victoria Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGarvie, Richard 1926 births 2003 deaths Australian republicans Companions of the Order of Australia Governors of Victoria (Australia) Judges of the Supreme Court of Victoria Melbourne Law School alumni Australian King's Counsel Chancellors of La Trobe University Delegates to the Australian Constitutional Convention 1998 People from Colac, Victoria Royal Australian Navy personnel of World War II Military personnel from Victoria (state)

Early life

Legal career

Constitutional influence

See also

References

External links