Bryan Wyndham Westwood (1930-2000), Anthony Mason (detail), 1992, High Court of Australia, Historic Memorials Collection. View full image

Justice 7 August 1972 to 5 February 1987
Chief Justice 5 February 1987 to 20 April 1995

Anthony Mason’s (b.1925) time as Chief Justice has been described as ‘among the most exciting and important in the Court’s history’.¹ Known for his acute intellect and sharp wit, he is regarded as one of the great Australian judges, his influence equal to that of Sir Owen Dixon.²

Born in Sydney, Mason attended Sydney Grammar School and graduated from the University of Sydney with a first-class Arts/Law degree. He met his wife Patricia, with whom he has two sons, when he was articled with Clayton Utz. He was called to the Sydney Bar in 1951.³ His private practice focused on equity and commercial law. Mason was appointed QC in 1964, and shortly after he was appointed Commonwealth Solicitor-General, serving from 1964 to 1969. In 1969, he was appointed to the NSW Court of Appeal and was elevated to the High Court of Australia in 1972.⁴ It was reported that he consulted in 1975 with his ‘close friend’ Sir John Kerr about the Governor-General’s Reserve Powers. Mason denies being directly involved in the decisions around the dismissal of the Whitlam Government.⁵

Mason’s early decisions on the Court followed the legalistic approach to judicial decision-making, often writing decisions with Chief Justice Barwick.⁶ Following Chief Justice Gibbs’s mandatory retirement, he was elevated to Chief Justice. His leadership ‘brought significant doctrinal developments but also broad changes in the direction of the Court’.⁷ Indeed, the Court moved from a ‘strict legalism’ approach of constitutional interpretation to a more ‘policy-oriented’ approach.⁸ This approach clarified section 92 of the Constitution, interstate trade,^[9] ‘discovered’ constitutional rights to implied freedom of political communication¹⁰ and the right to adequate legal representation,¹¹ and recognised pre-colonial land rights.¹² Mason said of his shift from legalistic to policy-oriented judicial interpretation, ‘I have been a judge for 25 years. It would be strange indeed, if all my views remained static over that period of time. If they did, I would regard that as a worthy subject of criticism’.¹³

Mason led a modernisation of the Court, including the use of video links for special leave application hearings, simpler court attire rather than traditional British garb, and ‘great use of written argument provided to the Court prior to oral submissions’.¹⁴ He also ‘showed a willingness to talk about the work of the Court and its role in Australian society’.¹⁵ Mason reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 in 1995. Upon retirement, Mason served as Chancellor of the University of NSW. He is widely published in scholarly journals and holds honorary degrees from several universities including the ANU, University of Melbourne, the University of Sydney, UNSW, and Oxford University.¹⁶ Mason was made a CBE in 1969 and elevated to KBE in 1972. He was made an AC in 1988 and awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001.

Bryan Wyndham Westwood
Born in Lima, Peru, portraitist and printmaker Bryan Westwood (1930-2000) began painting professionally during his mid-thirties after a varied career in economics, advertising and film. He is known for his photorealistic style with emphasis on composition, symmetry and line. Beyond portraiture, Westwood painted landscapes, interiors, still-life and figurative works. Based in the greater Sydney region for most of his career, he also spent extended periods working in Italy, France and the USA. In 1990, Westwood was appointed as the official artist for the 75th anniversary of the Gallipoli landing. He travelled with the veterans, and the resulting artworks were exhibited at the Australian War Memorial. Awarded the Archibald Prize for his mannerly portrayals of artist, art critic and writer, Elwyn (Jack) Lynn in 1989, and Prime Minister Paul Keating in 1992, he painted notable figures across such diverse fields as the arts, sport, business and government. Westwood’s works are held in public and private collections throughout Australia and internationally.¹⁷

Anthony Mason
by Bryan Westwood
1992
oil on canvas
55.5 x 45.5 cm
High Court of Australia, Historic Memorials Collection

References
1. K Walker, ‘Mason, Anthony’, in T Blackshield, M Coper and G Williams, eds, The Oxford Companion to the High Court of Australia, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, Victoria, 2001, pp. 459–61.
2. Ibid., p. 459.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. A Mason, ‘It was unfolding like a Greek tragedy’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 27 August 2012; M Gordon, ‘Mason speaks out on dismissal’, ibid. Websites accessed 1 September 2021.
6. Walker, op. cit., p. 459.
7. M Dillon and J Doyle, ‘Mason Court’ in Blackshield et al., op. cit.
8. Ibid.
9. ‘Cole v Whitfield’ [1988], High Court of Australia, HCA 18, 165 CLR 360, accessed 1 September 2021.
10. ‘Australian Capital Television Pty Ltd v The Commonwealth’ [1992], High Court of Australia, HCA 45, 177 CLR 106, accessed 1 September 2021.
11. ‘Dietrich v The Queen’ [1992], High Court of Australia, HCA 57, 177 CLR 292, accessed 1 September 2021.
12.‘Mabo and Others v Queensland (No. 2)’ [1992], High Court of Australia, HCA 2, 175 CLR 1, accessed 1 September 2021.
13. Walker, op. cit., p. 460.
14. Dillon and Doyle, op. cit.
15. Ibid.
16. Walker, op. cit.
17. ‘Westwood, Bryan Wyndham’, A McCulloch, S McCulloch and E McCulloch Childs, eds, The New McCulloch’s Encyclopedia of Australian Art, Aus Art Editions in association with The Miegunyah Press, 2006, p. 1017; E Taylor, ‘Ancestors, guardians, guides: Bryan Westwood’s Anzac portraits’, Wartime: official magazine of the Australian War Memorial, 1988, no. 8, pp. 25–27; ‘Bryan Westwood 1930–2000’, National Portrait Gallery; ‘Bryan Westwood’, Robin Gibson Gallery. Websites accessed 25 June 2021.