Clive Evatt
Encyclopedia
Clive Evatt QC
(6 June 1900 - 15 September 1984) was an Australian politician, barrister and raconteur. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
from 1939 until 1959. At various times he sat as a member of the Industrial Labor Party
, ALP
and as an independent.
and was the son of a publican who died when Evatt was one year old. His elder brother was H. V. Evatt
and he was the father of Elizabeth Evatt
, he was educated at Fort Street Boys High School. Evatt's family prevented him from enlisting in the First AIF but allowed him to enroll in the Royal Military College, Duntroon
from where he graduated as a lieutenant in 1921. However, he resigned from the army during the next year to study law at the University of Sydney
. While at the university he played Rugby League
for University and New South Wales
. He graduated and was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1926. His career as a barrister advanced rapidly and he was appointed a King's Counsel in 1935. He specialized in Workers' Compensation
Cases but also appeared in criminal cases, most notably in the Shark Arm case.
,the member for Hurstville
in the Legislative Assembly
. Evatt had been endorsed by the Industrial Labor Party
of Bob Heffron and defeated a candidate of the Australian Labor Party (NSW)
supported by Jack Lang
. This and a subsequent defeat at a by-election in Waverley
signaled the end of Lang's term as Leader of the Australian Labor Party in New South Wales
. Lang was replaced by William McKell
who led the ALP to victory at the 1941 election
.
, James McGirr
and Joseph Cahill
as Minister for Education
(1941–1944), Minister for Tourism (1946–1947), Minister for Housing (1947–1950 and 1952–1954) and Colonial Secretary
(1950–1952).
as an independent Labor candidate but he was defeated by the endorsed ALP candidate Bill Rigby
.
After leaving politics he continued to work as a barrister with a large Worker's Compensation and defamation practice.
QC
In Commonwealth countries, QC refers to Queen's Counsel, a distinguished and experienced legal practitioner.QC may also refer to:* Quebec Canada Post provincial abbreviation...
(6 June 1900 - 15 September 1984) was an Australian politician, barrister and raconteur. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
from 1939 until 1959. At various times he sat as a member of the Industrial Labor Party
Industrial Labor Party
The Industrial Labor Party or Heffron Labor Party was a political party active in New South Wales, Australia, between 1938 and 1939. It was a splinter group of the Australian Labor Party and was formed by Bob Heffron after he and Carlo Lazzarini attempted to depose the party leader Jack Lang...
, ALP
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
and as an independent.
Early life
Evatt was born in MaitlandMaitland, New South Wales
Maitland is a city in the Lower Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Maitland City Council, situated on the Hunter River approximately by road north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle...
and was the son of a publican who died when Evatt was one year old. His elder brother was H. V. Evatt
H. V. Evatt
Herbert Vere Evatt, QC KStJ , was an Australian jurist, politician and writer. He was President of the United Nations General Assembly in 1948–49 and helped draft the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights...
and he was the father of Elizabeth Evatt
Elizabeth Evatt
Elizabeth Andreas Evatt, AC , an emminent Australian reformist lawyer and jurist who sat on numerous national and international tribunals and commissions, was the first Chief Judge of the Family Court of Australia, the first female judge of an Australian federal court, and the first Australian to...
, he was educated at Fort Street Boys High School. Evatt's family prevented him from enlisting in the First AIF but allowed him to enroll in the Royal Military College, Duntroon
Royal Military College, Duntroon
The Royal Military College, Duntroon is the Australian Army's officer training establishment. It was founded at Duntroon, in the Australian Capital Territory, in 1911 and is situated on picturesque grounds at the foot of Mount Pleasant near Lake Burley Griffin, close to the Department of Defence...
from where he graduated as a lieutenant in 1921. However, he resigned from the army during the next year to study law at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
. While at the university he played Rugby League
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
for University and New South Wales
New South Wales rugby league team
The New South Wales rugby league team has represented the Australian state of New South Wales in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1907. Administered by the New South Wales Rugby League, the team competes in the annual State of Origin series against arch-rivals, the...
. He graduated and was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1926. His career as a barrister advanced rapidly and he was appointed a King's Counsel in 1935. He specialized in Workers' Compensation
Workers' compensation
Workers' compensation is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her employer for the tort of negligence...
Cases but also appeared in criminal cases, most notably in the Shark Arm case.
State parliament
In March 1939 he successfully contested the Hurstville state by-election, 1939 caused by the death of James WebbJames Webb (Australian Politician)
James Eli Webb was an Australian politician.Webb represented the seat of Hurstville in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1932 to 1939 for the United Australia Party.-Notes:...
,the member for Hurstville
Electoral district of Hurstville
Hurstville was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, named after and including the Sydney suburb of Hurstville....
in the Legislative Assembly
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
. Evatt had been endorsed by the Industrial Labor Party
Industrial Labor Party
The Industrial Labor Party or Heffron Labor Party was a political party active in New South Wales, Australia, between 1938 and 1939. It was a splinter group of the Australian Labor Party and was formed by Bob Heffron after he and Carlo Lazzarini attempted to depose the party leader Jack Lang...
of Bob Heffron and defeated a candidate of the Australian Labor Party (NSW)
Australian Labor Party (NSW)
The Australian Labor Party , commonly known as Lang Labor, was the name given to a major breakaway of the Australian Labor Party in New South Wales that operated from 1931 to 1936....
supported by Jack Lang
Jack Lang (Australian politician)
John Thomas Lang , usually referred to as J.T. Lang during his career, and familiarly known as "Jack" and nicknamed "The Big Fella" was an Australian politician who was Premier of New South Wales for two terms...
. This and a subsequent defeat at a by-election in Waverley
Electoral district of Waverley
Waverley was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, originally created in 1894, with the abolition of multi-member constituencies, out of part of Paddington, and named after and including the Sydney suburb of Waverley. In 1920, with the...
signaled the end of Lang's term as Leader of the Australian Labor Party in New South Wales
Leader of the Australian Labor Party in New South Wales
The leader of the ALP in the New South Wales Parliament is elected from and by the members of the party caucus, comprising all party members in the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council. When the Labor party forms a government the leader is the Premier and when the party is in opposition...
. Lang was replaced by William McKell
William McKell
Sir William John McKell GCMG , Australian politician, was Premier of New South Wales from 1941 to 1947, and was the 12th Governor-General of Australia. He was also the oldest Governor General of Australia, at 93 when he died....
who led the ALP to victory at the 1941 election
New South Wales state election, 1941
The 1941 New South Wales state election was held on 10 May 1941. This election was for all of the 90 seats in the 33nd New South Wales Legislative Assembly and was conducted in single member constituencies with compulsory preferential voting....
.
Government
Evatt served in the governments of William McKellWilliam McKell
Sir William John McKell GCMG , Australian politician, was Premier of New South Wales from 1941 to 1947, and was the 12th Governor-General of Australia. He was also the oldest Governor General of Australia, at 93 when he died....
, James McGirr
James McGirr
James McGirr was the Labor Premier of New South Wales from 6 February 1947 to 3 April 1952.A Catholic, McGirr was the seventh son of John Patrick McGirr, farmer and Irish immigrant, and Mary McGirr, whose maiden name was O'Sullivan. Born in Parkes, New South Wales, he grew up on a dairy farm near...
and Joseph Cahill
Joseph Cahill
John Joseph Cahill was Premier of New South Wales in Australia from 1952 to 1959. He is best remembered as the Premier who approved construction on the Sydney Opera House, and for his work increasing the authority of local government in the state.-Early years:Joe Cahill, as he was popularly known,...
as Minister for Education
New South Wales Department of Education and Training
The New South Wales Department of Education and Communities, a department of the Government of New South Wales, is responsibile for primary schools, secondary schools and Technical and Further Education colleges...
(1941–1944), Minister for Tourism (1946–1947), Minister for Housing (1947–1950 and 1952–1954) and Colonial Secretary
Chief Secretary
The Chief Secretary is the title of a senior civil servant in members of the Commonwealth of Nations, and, historically, in the British Empire. Prior to the dissolution of the colonies, the Chief Secretary was the second most important official in a colony of the British Empire after the...
(1950–1952).
Expulsion from Labor Party
Tensions within the New South Wales branch of the Australian Labor Party leading up to the 1950s party split led to Cahill forcing Evatt from the cabinet. In 1956 he was expelled from the ALP after he voted in parliament against a caucus decision to increase tram fares. He fought the subsequent electionNew South Wales state election, 1959
The 1959 New South Wales state election was held on 21 March 1959. It was conducted in single member constituencies with compulsory preferential voting and was held on boundaries created at a 1957 redistribution...
as an independent Labor candidate but he was defeated by the endorsed ALP candidate Bill Rigby
Bill Rigby (politician)
William Matthew Rigby was an Australian politician. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1959 to 1965, representing the electorate of Hurstville....
.
After leaving politics he continued to work as a barrister with a large Worker's Compensation and defamation practice.