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Kenneth Bailey (lawyer)

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Kenneth Bailey
Secretary of the Attorney-General's Department
In office
9 May 1946 – 2 February 1964
Preceded bySir George Knowles
Succeeded byTed Hook
Personal details
Born
Kenneth Hamilton Bailey

(1898-11-03)3 November 1898
Canterbury, Victoria, Australia
Died3 May 1972(1972-05-03) (aged 73)
Canberra, Australia
Spouse
(m. 1925)
ChildrenPeter Bailey
Alma materUniversity of Melbourne
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
OccupationPublic servant, lawyer

Sir Kenneth Hamilton Bailey CBE QC (3 November 1898 – 3 May 1972) was a senior Australian public servant and lawyer, best known for his time as Secretary of the Attorney-General's Department between 1946 and 1964.

Life and career

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Kenneth Bailey was born on 3 November 1898 in Canterbury, Victoria.[1] He was dux of his high school, Wesley College, in 1916.[2] He was Victoria's Rhodes Scholar for 1918, a feat later emulated by his son. Both attended Corpus Christi College, Oxford.[3]

In 1927, Bailey was appointed professor of jurisprudence at the University of Melbourne; the following year becoming the first Australia-born dean of the law school.[4]

Between 1946 and 1964, Bailey was Solicitor-General of Australia and Secretary of the Attorney-General's Department.[1] During his time as Solicitor-General, Bailey officially opened the Australian Police College in Barton on 25 October 1960.[5]

Bailey died on 3 May 1972 in Canberra and was cremated. His son, Peter Hamilton Bailey, was also a public servant, as well as a human rights academic.[1]

Awards and honours

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Bailey was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in June 1953 whilst Permanent Head of the Attorney-General's Department.[6] He was knighted in 1958.[7]

In 1972, the University of Melbourne awarded Bailey an honorary doctorate at a special conferring ceremony at Canberra Hospital.[2] The degree was conferred to recognize his distinguished service to the university.[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Richardson, Jack E., "Bailey, Sir Kenneth Hamilton (1898–1972)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian National University, archived from the original on 1 March 2014
  2. ^ a b Melbourne Law School, Kenneth Bailey 1928-1936, 1938-1942, University of Melbourne, archived from the original on 2 January 2015
  3. ^ Father and Son Rhodes Scholars, The Age, 7 December 1949.
  4. ^ "BAILEY Kenneth Hamilton", Legal Opinions Author Biographies, Australian Government
  5. ^ Annual Report 2012–13 (PDF), Australian Institute of Police Management, 2013, p. 25, archived (PDF) from the original on 4 February 2014
  6. ^ "Search Australian Honours: BAILEY, Kenneth Hamilton, Commander of the Order of the British Empire", itsanhonour.gov.au, Australian Government, archived from the original on 15 January 2015
  7. ^ "Search Australian Honours: BAILEY, Kenneth Hamilton, Knight Bachelor", itsanhonour.gov.au, Australian Government, archived from the original on 26 October 2021
  8. ^ "Jurist honoured". The Canberra Times. 18 March 1972. p. 1.
Government offices
Preceded by Secretary of the Attorney-General's Department
1946 – 1964
Succeeded by
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Australian High Commissioner to Canada
1964 – 1969
Succeeded by
David McNicoll