Selden Society lecture series Australia
Join a variety of judicial officers, legal professionals and academics for this informative and provocative series of legal history lectures. Each episode presents a single story uncovering a unique aspect of our common law past. This might be literature or language, a fascinating event or item, a significant person, or the development of a legal idea. These lectures are recorded in the Banco Court, Brisbane, and are now available to the world.
Episodes
36 episodes
Sir Charles Lilley and the Grimley Affair
Sir Charles Lilley (1827–97) was a towering figure in politics and law in colonial Queensland, but his final years were dogged by controversy. In October 1892, Sir Charles announced his intention to resign as second Chief Justice o...
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Season 4
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Episode 35
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53:46
Queensland Law Society: serving ‘conscientious, honest lawyers’
A statement praising ‘conscientious honest lawyers’ was published in a Brisbane newspaper in 1874. At that time, the public image of lawyers—barristers, as well as solicitors—was poor. For decades Queensland Parliaments were inclined to agree. ...
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Season 3
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Episode 34
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1:03:19
Mr Justice Harding—a titan of Queensland law
George Rogers Harding (1838–1895) was the 5th Judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland and is regarded as one of Queensland’s finest civil lawyers, who...
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Season 3
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Episode 33
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30:12
Lord Denning
Many consider Lord Denning (1899–1999) to be the most important English judge of the 20th century. His witty and trenchant judgments are read by law students and cited by legal texts and lawyers in the United Kingdom as well as Australia, Canad...
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Season 3
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Episode 32
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52:59
Sir Frederick Jordan: Australia’s most influential judge?
Sir Frederick Jordan served as Chief Justice of New South Wales from 1934–1949. His vigorous defence of the rule of law during World War II sometimes put him at odds with the governments of the day and the High Court of Australia, but his fierc...
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Season 3
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Episode 31
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36:38
Kidnapping and slavery in Queensland: the 'Jason' and the 'Hopeful'
In our latest episode, Dr Andrew Stumer and Professor Emeritus Kay Saunders AO examine two Queensland criminal cases from the late 19th century. With the rapid expansion of sugar production in Queensland in the second half of the 1...
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Season 3
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Episode 30
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1:00:33
Making law through practice: examples from commercial law
Sir Ross Cranston will draw on themes in his recent book, Making commercial law through practice 1830–1970 (Cambridge UP, 2021), emphasising the Australian dimension. He will examine three areas: markets, agency and sales, to show tha...
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Season 3
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Episode 29
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39:56
1922: after Ryan, the storm
TJ Ryan, as leader of Queensland’s first Labor government to have a majority in the lower house of state parliament, implemented wide‑ranging political, economic and social reforms in the face of opposition from the upper house and resistance f...
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Season 3
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Episode 28
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51:43
Justices of the US Supreme Court—Chief Justice John Marshall and the establishment of judicial review
During John Marshall’s long tenure as Chief Justice (1801-1835) a decision of particular importance was Marbury v Madison 5 US 137 (1803), in which Marshall CJ delivered the opinion of the court. The judgment established the key role o...
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Season 4
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Episode 27
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47:31
Merthyr House—the home of Sir Samuel Griffith
Sir Samuel Griffith’s Brisbane home was a grand riverfront estate in the Brisbane suburb of New Farm. It was lavishly furnished with Chippendale furniture and Italian objets d’art and even included a high-ceilinged ballroom at its cent...
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Season 3
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Episode 26
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37:17
Mrs Chester’s lost child: inconsolable psychological injury and Justice Evatt’s finest judgement
After her ‘brilliant boy’ drowned in an unfenced trench in 1937, Mrs Chester took legal action against the local council. Although her claim would ultimately be unsuccessful, the dissenting and empathic judgment of Justice Evatt would mark a cr...
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Season 3
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Episode 25
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1:04:00
BONUS CONTENT: Mrs Chester’s lost child: inconsolable psychological injury and Justice Evatt’s finest judgment
Listen to a panel discussion between the Hon Justice Peter Applegarth AM, author Gideon Haigh and Associate Professor Kylie Burns that took place after the lecture 'Mrs Chester’s lost child: inconsolable psychological injury and Justice Evatt’s...
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Season 3
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Episode 25
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8:14
Lord Eldon
Many leading equity texts and lawyers continue to quote Lord Eldon’s judgments. He is seen by many to be one of the most famous of the Chancery judges in equity law, as he systematised and bought certainty to its principles. Listen to Queenslan...
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Season 3
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Episode 24
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45:55
The audacity of Griffith as a law reformer
Sir Samuel Griffith was undoubtedly the instigator of some of the greatest law reform moments in Queensland history. This lecture attempts to capture the most significant pieces of law reform for which he was singularly responsible for more tha...
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Season 3
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Episode 23
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35:26
Justice Mary Gaudron
Mary Genevieve Gaudron was the first woman to be appointed a justice of the High Court of Australia. Gaudron served on the Court as one of its most influential members for 16 years (1987–2003), and her career has been described as ‘a classic ex...
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Season 3
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Episode 22
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45:47
Private law’s revolutionaries: authors, codifiers and merchants?
Has there ever really been a revolution in private law, never mind the law of obligations? Professor Hector MacQueen addresses that question by considering the relationship between law and revolution. Read the
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Season 2
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Episode 21
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48:24
Celebrating Samuel Griffith
To mark our brand new exhibition, The many hats of Sir Samuel Griffith, our latest podcast features the Australian Academy of Law and Selden Society (Australia) webinar, Celebrating Samuel Gr...
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Season 2
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Episode 20
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58:20
Lord Atkin
After discovering a badly decomposed snail at the bottom of a bottle of ginger ale, Mrs Donoghue became ill and then sued the manufacturer. Lord Atkin’s judgment in this case would have a lasting impact on society. Hear
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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51:16
Supreme Court Fire of 1968
In the early hours of a cold Brisbane morning in 1968, David Bertram Brooks entered the unlocked front door of Queensland’s historic Supreme Court. Resentful of the police and the justice system for his frequent arrests, Brooks made his way to ...
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Season 2
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Episode 18
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40:44
Sir Harry Gibbs CJ
Sir Harry Talbot Gibbs PC AC GCMC QC served as a Justice of the High Court of Australia for more than 16 years (1970–87), rising to the office of Chief Justice from 1981 to 1987. As a judge of exemplary ability and integrity, with no political ...
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Season 2
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Episode 17
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37:12
Lord Mansfield
In this episode Professor Warren Swain examines Lord Mansfield and his influence in developing the common law to meet the growing needs of commercial practice.In particular, his judgments shaped the law in relation to bills of exchange,...
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Season 2
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Episode 15
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43:14
Sir Edward Coke
Barrister, legal scholar, parliamentarian, and judge, Sir Edward Coke (1552–1634) was at the very centre of some of the most dramatic moments in England's legal history including the trials of the Earl of Essex (1600), Sir Walter Raleigh (1603)...
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Episode 15
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53:32
Law and politics in McCawley's case
The appointment of Thomas William McCawley to the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1917 was a decision destined to provoke controversy. The challenge to his appointment was based on what were called 'purely legal and constitutional grounds', but ...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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43:19
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor
In this episode of the podcast, the Hon Margaret McMurdo AC pays tribute to the life and work of Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to be appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Throughout her long and disti...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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50:29
Lord Bingham of Cornhill
Lord Thomas Bingham of Cornhill was described in his obituary as the greatest English judge since the Second World War. He was the first modern judge to hold all of the positions of Master of the Rolls, Lord Chief Justice, and Senior Law Lord.&...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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53:59