Adrian Knox

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Sir Adrian Knox
In office
18 October 1919 – 31 March 1930
Appointed by Billy Hughes
Preceded by Sir Samuel Griffith
Succeeded by Sir Isaac Isaacs
Born 29 November 1863
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died 27 April 1932
Woollahra, New South Wales, Australia

Sir Adrian Knox KCMG PC (November 29, 1863 – April 27, 1932), Australian judge, was the second Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, sitting on the bench of the High Court from 1919 to 1930.

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[edit] Education

Knox was born in Sydney on November 29, 1863, the son of English migrant parents who owned the Colonial Sugar Refining Company. Knox was educated first in Sydney, and then in the United Kingdom, attending the Harrow School and Cambridge University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws. Shortly after, he was admitted to the Inner Temple, where English barristers are called to the bar.

[edit] Legal career

Knox returned to Australia in 1886 and joined his brother George in practising law. When George died shortly after, Adrian took over the practice, and soon became one of the most successful lawyers at the bar. In 1894, Knox was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, in the (no longer existing) seat of Woollahra. After being reelected in 1895, Knox retired from the parliament in 1898. Knox was made a King's Counsel in 1906, and shortly after was offered a position on the bench of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, which he declined.

Also in 1906, Knox became Chairman of the Australian Jockey Club, indulging his passion for horse-racing. In 1910, Knox's horse "Vavasor" won the Sydney Cup. He remained Chairman until 1919. During World War I, Knox left his practice and traveled to Egypt, where he served as a Commissioner for the Red Cross.

[edit] Judicial career

Soon after Knox returned from Egypt, Sir Samuel Griffith retired as the first Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, and in October 1919, Prime Minister Billy Hughes appointed Knox as the second. Knox was a successful Chief Justice, and in 1926, he was made a member of the Privy Council also. Knox sat on a number of judicial committees in this capacity, including one which investigated the British Government's authority to establish the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland. During his time as Chief Justice, Knox presided over such significant cases as the Engineers' case of 1920.

In 1930, Knox was left half of the estate of his friend and mining magnate John Brown, which was reportedly worth more than a million pounds, and in March 1930 he retired from the High Court in order to manage this business. Knox died in Woollahra on April 27, 1932 and is interred in Waverley Cemetery. He was survived by his wife and three children.

[edit] Honours

In 1918, Knox was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG), and in 1921 he was elevated to a Knight Commander of that order (KCMG). Knox was an inaugural inductee of the Australian Racing Hall of Fame, which was established in 2001.

[edit] References

Preceded by
Sir Samuel Griffith		 Chief Justice of Australia
1919-1930		 Succeeded by
Sir Isaac Isaacs


Justices of the High Court of Australia
Chief Justices of Australia
Griffith · Knox · Isaacs · Gavan Duffy · Latham · Dixon · Barwick · Gibbs · Mason · Brennan · Gleeson
Puisne Justices
Barton · O'Connor · Higgins · Powers · Piddington · Rich · Starke · Evatt · McTiernan · Williams · Webb · Fullagar · Kitto · Taylor · Menzies · Windeyer · Owen · Walsh · Stephen · Jacobs · Murphy · Aickin · Wilson · Deane · Dawson · Toohey · Gaudron · McHugh · Gummow · Kirby · Hayne · Callinan · Heydon · Crennan · Kiefel
current Justices are in italics