Ray Watson (judge)

Raymond Sanders "Ray" Watson AM (24 December 1922 – 26 October 2010[1]) was an Australian judge of the Family Court. He was one of the authors of the Family Law Act.[2]

Watson was born in Sydney to a road contractor, and received sporadic education. He worked for the New South Wales transport department in order to put himself through high school and studied law at the University of Sydney, although his study was interrupted by service in the navy during World War II. He survived a kamikaze attack on HMAS Australia in 1944.[1] Watson was an avid stamp collector his entire life.[2]

Watson became a barrister and rose to sit as a judge on the first Family Court in the 1970s, where he advocated the priority of children's welfare and no-fault divorce.

In 1984, a bomb attack on their home injured Watson and killed his wife Pearl.[2] On 29 July 2015 a 68-year-old man was arrested by detectives at Campbelltown, New South Wales over the murder of Pearl, and three other Family Court related murders between 1980 and 1985, including fellow judge David Opas.[3]

Watson was contributing to legal books until he suffered a series of strokes and a brain haemorrhage in July 2003, which impacted on his mental acuity, and on 19 October 2003 he suffered head injuries in a fall and was taken to Royal North Shore Hospital.[2]

Watson died on 26 October 2010.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Olding, Rachel (1 November 2010). "Judge sought informality in court with no-fault divorce". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Gibbs, Stephen (15 September 2004). "The frail judge, his stamps and the carer who tried to sell them". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  3. ↑ "Man arrested over Sydney family law court bombings, murders in 1980s". ABC News (Australia) (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 29 July 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
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