H. V. Evatt

The Right Honourable Dr Herbert Evatt QCKStJ
Evatt in 1948
Justice of the High Court of Australia
In office 19 December 1930 – 2 September 1940
Nominated by	James Scullin
Preceded by	Sir Charles Powers
Succeeded by	Sir Dudley Williams
Chief Justice of New South Wales
In office 15 February 1960 – 24 October 1962
Preceded by	Sir Kenneth Street
Succeeded by	Sir Leslie Herron
Leader of the Opposition
In office 20 June 1951 – 9 February 1960
Prime Minister	Robert Menzies
Deputy	Arthur Calwell
Preceded by	Ben Chifley
Succeeded by	Arthur Calwell
Leader of the Labor Party
In office 20 June 1951 – 9 February 1960
Deputy	Arthur Calwell
Preceded by	Ben Chifley
Succeeded by	Arthur Calwell
Deputy Leader of the Labor Party
In office 31 October 1946 – 20 June 1951
Leader	Ben Chifley
Preceded by	Frank Forde
Succeeded by	Arthur Calwell
Attorney-General for Australia
In office 7 October 1941 – 19 December 1949
Prime Minister	John Curtin Frank Forde Ben Chifley
Preceded by	Billy Hughes
Succeeded by	John Spicer
Minister for External Affairs
In office 7 October 1941 – 19 December 1949
Prime Minister	John Curtin Frank Forde Ben Chifley
Preceded by	Sir Frederick Stewart
Succeeded by	Percy Spender
President of the United Nations General Assembly
In office 1948–1949
Preceded by	José Arce
Succeeded by	Carlos P. Romulo
Member of theAustralian Parliament forBarton
In office 21 September 1940 – 22 November 1958
Preceded by	Albert Lane
Succeeded by	Len Reynolds
Member of theAustralian Parliament forHunter
In office 22 November 1958 – 10 February 1960
Preceded by	Rowley James
Succeeded by	Bert James
Personal details
Born	Herbert Vere Evatt (1894-04-30)30 April 1894 East Maitland,Colony of New South Wales,British Empire
Died	2 November 1965(1965-11-02)(aged 71) Forrest, Australian Capital Territory,Australia
Political party	Labor
Spouse	Mary Sheffer ​ (m.1920)​
Relations	Clive Evatt(brother) Elizabeth Evatt(niece) Penelope Seidler(niece) Sir George Evatt(uncle)
Children	2
Education	Fort Street Model School
Alma mater	University of Sydney
Occupation	Lawyer Academic Politician Judge

Herbert Vere "Doc" Evatt,QC,PC,KStJ(30 April 1894 – 2 November 1965) was an Australian politician and judge. He served as a justice of theHigh Court of Australiafrom 1930 to 1940,Attorney-GeneralandMinister for External Affairsfrom 1941 to 1949, and leader of theAustralian Labor Party(ALP) andLeader of the Oppositionfrom 1951 to 1960. Evatt is considered one of Australia's most prominent public intellectuals of the twentieth century.

Evatt was born inEast Maitland, New South Wales,and grew up onSydney'sNorth Shore.He studied law at theUniversity of Sydney,attaining the degree ofDoctor of Laws(LL.D.) in 1924. After a period in theNew South Wales Legislative Assembly(1925–1930), Evatt was appointed to the High Court in 1930 by theScullin government.He was 36 years old, and remains the youngest appointee in the court's history. He was considered an innovative judge, but left the court to seek election to federal parliament at the1940 federal election.

In 1941, the ALP returned to government under Prime MinisterJohn Curtin.Evatt was appointed Attorney-General and Minister for External Affairs, positions he held under Curtin andBen Chifleyuntil the government's defeat at the1949 federal election.He served asPresident of the United Nations General Assemblyfrom 1948 to 1949, and helped to draft theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights.After Chifley's death in 1951, Evattwas electedas his successor as ALP leader. Internal tensions over the party's attitude tocommunismduring theCold Warculminated ina party splitin 1955. The ALP was defeated at three consecutive federal elections under Evatt's leadership, in1954,1955and1958.He faced threeleadership spillsbefore being convinced to retire from politics in 1960 and accept the post ofChief Justice of New South Wales.

Early life

Evatt was born on 30 April 1894 at the Bank Hotel inEast Maitland, New South Wales.He was the fifth of eight sons born to Jane Sophia (known as "Jeanie" ) and John Ashmore Hamilton Evatt; two of his older brothers died in infancy.On his father's side, Evatt was descended from anAnglo-Irishfamily with a history of military service – his paternal grandfather was Captain George Evatt of the70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot,while an uncle was Major-GeneralSir George Evatt.His father was born in Cawnpore (nowKanpur), India, but grew up inDublin,Ireland. He arrived in Australia at the age of 16, and eventually settled inMorpeth,where in 1882 he married Jeanie Gray, the daughter of a marine engineer fromSydney.Evatt's maternal grandfather was born inShoreditch,London,England, while his maternal grandmother was born inCounty Limerick,Ireland. His parents – both Anglicans – moved to East Maitland in 1885, where they managed the Hunter River Hotel until 1891 and then took over the smaller Bank Hotel.

Evatt began his education at a local state school. His father suffered a protracted bout of ill health and died in October 1901, when his son was seven.The family stayed in Maitland for three more years, but eventually moved to Sydney to be closer to his mother's family, who lived on theNorth Shore.She bought a home inMilsons PointoverlookingSydney Harbour,within walking distance of her parents' home inKirribilli.The house was later demolished to make way for theSydney Harbour Bridge.Evatt was enrolled in theFort Street Model School,located directly across the harbour onObservatory Hill.He attended the school from 1905 to 1911, in his final year serving as head prefect and captain of the cricket and rugby union teams. He finished second in the state senior examinations, and was dux of his school.

University

In 1912, Evatt began studying at theUniversity of Sydney,where he was a resident ofSt Andrew's College.He graduated in 1919 with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics, Logic, Philosophy and English with (Triple)First-Class Honours and theUniversity Medalin Philosophy in 1915, a Master of Arts in 1916, and aBachelor of Lawswith First-Class Honours and the University Medal in 1918.At university Evatt played cricket, rugby league football, hockey and baseball.He was also the Editor ofHermes,the annual student literary journal, was a Tutor atSt Andrew's College,and the President of theUniversity of Sydney Unionfrom 1916–17. He graduatedLegum Doctor(LLD) in 1924 from theUniversity of Sydneywith a thesis on the royal prerogative.Evatt remained involved with the university after his graduation, staying on as the patron of the University Amateur Rugby League club.

State politics

Because of poor eyesight, Evatt was unable to serve in theFirst World War,in which two of his brothers were killed. He became a prominent industrial lawyer in Sydney, working mainly for trade union clients. In 1925 Evatt was elected as anAustralian Labor Partymember forBalmainin theNew South Wales Legislative Assembly.Re-elected as an "Independent Labor" candidate in 1927, Evatt served in the Legislative Assembly until 1930.

Evatt in 1925

High Court (1930–1940)

In 1930 the Labor government headed byJames Scullinappointed Evatt as the youngest-ever justice of theHigh Court of Australia.Regarded by some as a brilliant and innovative judge, he delivered a number of minority judgments, several of which were adopted by High Court majorities decades later. Evatt could, however, be partial on the bench.Sir Owen Dixonnoted inAustralian Woollen Mills Ltd v F.S. Walton & Co. Ltd(1937 58 CLR 641) that Evatt was on that occasion "full of antagonism to the respondent... Most unjudicial."Whenever Evatt was not particularly interested in a case he appears to have generally gone along with Dixon.

Evatt was one of six justices of the High Court who had served in theParliament of New South Wales,along withEdmund Barton,Richard O'Connor,Adrian Knox,Albert PiddingtonandEdward McTiernan.In 1934 Evatt played an important part in theEgon Kischexclusionwhen he ruled that the Lyons government's ban on Kisch entering Australia had been incorrectly executed and that Kisch was free to enter the country.

Evatt (left) andBen Chifley(middle) withClement Attlee(right) at the Dominion and British Leaders Conference, London, 1946

Federal politics

In 1940, Evatt resigned from the High Court to return to politics, and was elected federal MP for the Sydney seat ofBartonin theHouse of Representatives..When Labor came to power underJohn Curtinin 1941, Evatt becameAttorney-GeneralandForeign Minister.He became deputy leader of the Labor Party andde factoDeputy Prime Ministerafter the1946 election,under the leadership ofBen Chifley.

While in London, Evatt acted as the spokesperson for theAustralian Board of Control for International Cricketand made personal representations to theMarylebone Cricket Clubwho were reluctant to send a cricket team to tour Australia so soon after the war. He put forward convincing arguments as to the need to re-establish sporting relations and the financial benefits of the tour and the MCC agreed to the1946–47 Ashes series.Don Bradmanwould later aver that the "quick resumption of Anglo-Australian Tests had justified itself in every way, psychologically, technically, financially".

Evatt was a defender of theWhite Australia Policy.There was a strong view in Australia that any softening of the White Australia stance might result in cheaper labour being imported from overseas. Another prevailing sentiment was that multiculturalism resulted in instability. Evatt, opposing resolutions which could have led to more Asian immigration to Australia, told the Chinese delegation at San Francisco:

You have always insisted on the right to determine the composition of your own people. Australia wants that right now. What you are attempting to do now, Japan attempted after the last war [the First World War] and was prevented by Australia. Had we opened New Guinea and Australia to Japanese immigration then the Pacific War by now might have ended disastrously and we might have had another shambles like that experienced in Malaya.

President of the UN General Assembly

Evatt in 1948 with UN Secretary-GeneralTrygve Lie

Evatt joined the diplomatic councils of the allies duringWorld War II.In 1945, he played a leading role in the founding of the UN. He wasPresident of the United Nations General Assemblyfrom 1948 to 1949 as part of thethird session of the United Nations General Assembly,and was prominent in the negotiations that led to the creation ofIsraelas chair of theAd Hoc Committee on the Palestinian Question.He helped draft the United NationsUniversal Declaration of Human Rights.

Leader of the Opposition (1951–1960)

In the1949 election,Labor was defeated by Menzies' newLiberal Party.At this election, Evatt faced war heroNancy Wakeand suffered a massive swing in his own electorate, seeing his majority reduced from a very safe 66.9 percent to an extremely marginal 53.2 percent. He faced Wake again inthe double dissolution election of 1951and was nearly defeated, seeing her off by only 243 votes (out of more than 41,600 cast). WhenBen Chifley(still Labor leader) suddenly died several months later, Evatt was elected unopposed as his successor. At first his leadership went well. He campaigned successfully against Menzies'attemptto amend the Constitution to ban theCommunist Party.Many convinced anti-Communists in the Labor Party believed this was both bad politics and bad policy because of the active Communist infiltration of numerous trade unions, and because of the threat to national security posed by Communism. None of the anti-Communists, aside fromStan Keon,openly censured Evatt's stance.

Evatt campaigned well in the1954 electionand came within four seats of defeating the Menzies government. The Labor Party actually achieved a highertwo-party-preferred votein the election than the governing Liberal-Country Coalition, but the uneven distribution of votes meant that the Coalition retained more seats and were able to hold onto government. Evatt believed that thePetrov Affair,involving the defection of a Soviet diplomat and his wife during the election campaign, had been contrived through Menzies's conspiring with security services with the specific purpose of discrediting Evatt. In the ensuingRoyal Commission on Espionage,documents tendered were alleged to provide evidence of an extensive Soviet spy ring in Australia, and named (among many others), two of Evatt's staff members. Evatt appeared before the Royal Commission as attorney for his staff members. His cross-examination of the key ASIO operativeMichael Bialoguskitransformed the commission's hearings and greatly perturbed the government. The Royal Commission quickly withdrew Evatt's leave to appear. Evatt claimed this denial was because of judicial bias in favour of the Menzies government.

Evatt's loss of the election and his belief that Menzies had conspired with ASIO to contrive Petrov's defection led to criticism within the Labor Party of his decision to appear before the Royal Commission. He compounded this by writing to the Soviet Foreign Minister,Vyacheslav Molotov,asking if allegations of Soviet espionage in Australia were true. When Molotov replied, naturally denying the allegations, Evatt read the letter out in Parliament, bringing the House into silence momentarily before both sides of Parliament began laughing.

Evatt also blamed the Catholic-dominated"Groupers"in the Labor Party for sabotaging his election campaign. He later publicly attacked The Groupers, who had infiltrated the Victorian Labor Party, thus precipitating asplit in the party,with most of the "Groupers" leaving or being expelled. The disaffected formed theDemocratic Labor Party,which directed itspreferencesagainst Labor at subsequent elections. This, together with an obsessive hatred of Menzies, led Evatt into a number of unforced errors.Due to these factors, Labor was roundly defeated in the1955 election,suffering an 11-seat swing. Evatt himself was nearly defeated in Barton after almost three-quarters of independents' preferences flowed to his Liberal opponent. For the1958 election,he transferred toHunter,one of the few safe country seats for Labor. He offered to resign as leader if the DLP would return to the party. The offer was rejected and Labor was soundly defeated again.

Chief Justice of New South Wales (1960–1962)

In 1960, the Labor government in New South Wales appointed Evatt theChief Justice of New South Wales,an appointment that was widely seen as a means of giving him a dignified exit from politics.

Health

Recent biographies of Evatt agree that his behaviour became more eccentric from the late 1950s. Pat Fiske and David McKnight, in their 1995 television documentaryDoc,attributed what they described as Evatt's "deteriorating mental functioning"toarteriosclerosis.

In 1962, Evatt was suffering from stress and was persuaded to retire from the bench. He died from pneumonia inCanberraon 2 November 1965, aged 71.

Personal life

Evatt in 1926 with his wife Mary and son Peter

Two years after being admitted to the New South Wales Bar, Evatt, an Anglican,married Mary Alice Sheffer at theCongregational ChurchinMosman, New South Waleson 27 November 1920. Even with his sometimes turbulent nature, the relationship was one of devotion.The couple had two children, Peter and Rosalind, whom they adopted due to Mary Alice's serious gynaeocological issues.

Peter Evattbecame an Olympic rower, who was 1953 national sculling champion and represented Australia in rowing at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne.Peter was a member of the ALP, like his father, and stood for the seat ofBennelongat the 1969 federal elections.

In 1972, aged 50, Peter died by accidental electrocution while trying to repair a faulty electric toaster. He was survived by his six children. His death was reported byThe Ageon 27 December 1972.

In 1953, Rosalind Evatt married Peter Carrodus, the assistant manager of a Canberra radio station,2CA.

Relatives

Evatt's youngest brother wasClive R. Evatt,whose three children are noted below:

• Evatt's niece,Penelope Seidler,an architect, marriedHarry Seidlerin 1958.

• Evatt's niece,Elizabeth Evatt,was a barrister and judge.

• Evatt's nephew, Clive A. Evatt, was a defamation barrister.

Literary works

During his life, Evatt had a varied career as a writer, covering such topics as law and labour history. His book on the politics of theRum Rebellionis still considered relevant, although others disagree with Evatt's view. Evatt contributed an article on "Cricket and the British Commonwealth" to the 1949 edition of theWisden Cricketer's Almanack.

His publications include:

• H. V. Evatt,Australian Labour Leader: The Story Of W.A. Holman and the Labour Movement,1954
• H. V. Evatt,The King and His Dominion Governors,1936
• H. V. Evatt,Injustice within the Law. A study of the case of the Dorsetshire Labourers,1937
• H. V. Evatt,The Royal Prerogative,1930 (this was his LLD thesis)
• H. V. Evatt,Rum Rebellion: A Study of the Overthrow of Governor Bligh by John Macarthur and the New South Wales Corps,1943
• H. V. Evatt,Liberalism in Australia: An Historical Sketch of Australian Politics down to the year 1915,1918

Honours

• In 1924 Evatt was awarded the degree LLD, for his dissertation on prerogative powers of Governors in the British legal system.
• TheEvatt Foundation,a research institute for the labour movement, is named in his honour.
• The suburb ofEvatt,which lies in theBelconnendistrict ofCanberra,Australian Capital Territory, is also named in his honour.
• One of the high schools (Maitland Boys High School) in his home town of Maitland was briefly renamed Evatt High School in his honour, before being renamedMaitland High Schoolwhen it became unisex some years later.
• In November 1965, the NSW State Government opened Evatt Park inLugarno,which is still used frequently for recreation.
• United Nations Youth Australiaruns an annual national high schoolsModel United NationsSecurity Councilcompetition, the Evatt Cup, which has rounds in every state and territory.
• Evatt was nominated for theNobel Peace Prizein 1950 and 1953, but was not selected in both instances.

Bibliography

• Wake, Valdemar Robert (2004).No Ribbons or Medals: The story of 'Hereward', an Australian counter espionage officer.Mitcham, South Australia, Australia: Jacobyte Books.ISBN1-74100-165-X.ISBN9781741001655available from Digital Print, South Australia.

Further reading

• Buckley, Ken; Dale, Barbara and Reynolds, Wayne.Doc Evatt,Cheshire, Melbourne (1994);ISBN0-582-87498-X
• Dalziel, Allan.Evatt. The Enigma,Lansdowne Press, Melbourne (1967).
• Haigh, Gideon.The Brilliant Boy: Doc Evatt and the Great Australian Dissent,Simon and Schuster, Sydney (2021);ISBN9781760856113
• Hogan, Ashley.Moving in the Open Daylight: Doc Evatt, an Australian at the United Nations,Sydney University Press: Sydney, (2008);ISBN9781920899288
• Makin, Norman.Federal Labour Leaders, Union Printing, Sydney, New South Wales (1961), pp. 140–145.
• Murphy, John.Evatt: A Life,NewSouth Publishing, Sydney (2016)ISBN9781742234465
• Renouf, Alan.Let Justice Be Done. The Foreign Policy of Dr H.V. Evatt,University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, Queensland (1983);ISBN0-7022-1893-6
• Tennant, Kylie.Evatt. Politics and Justice,Angus and Robertson, Sydney (1970);ISBN0-207-12533-3

External links

• Evatt Collection at Flinders University Library
• Newspaper clippings about H. V. Evattin the20th Century Press Archivesof theZBW