George Pape
Australian lawyer and judge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sir George Augustus Pape (29 January 1903 – 15 June 1987) was an Australian lawyer and judge. He became a Queen's Counsel in 1955 and a judge in the Supreme Court of Victoria in 1957. He was knighted in 1968 and retired from the Supreme Court in 1975.[1][2]
Biography
Pape was educated at All Saints Grammar School, St Kilda;[Note 1][3] and the University of Melbourne. From 1940 to 1946 he served in the Royal Australian Air Force and was discharged with the rank of Squadron Leader.[1][4]
Legal cases
Pape participated in four inquiries into major aircraft accidents in Australia:
- In the inquiry into the 1946 Australian National Airways DC-3 crash, Pape juniored to Dr E.G. Coppel KC who represented Australian National Airways, the aircraft operator.[5][6]
- In the inquiry into the 1948 Australian National Airways DC-3 crash, Pape represented Australian National Airways, the aircraft operator.[7][8]
- In the inquiry into the 1949 MacRobertson Miller Aviation DC-3 crash, Pape represented MacRobertson Miller Aviation, the aircraft operator.[9][10]
- In the inquiry into the 1950 Australian National Airways Douglas DC-4 crash, Pape represented Australian National Airways, the aircraft operator.[11][12][13]
In 1952 the state of Victoria challenged the power of the Commonwealth of Australia to impose uniform taxation law. The state government retained four counsel – Henry Winneke,[Note 2] Garfield Barwick, Douglas Menzies and George Pape.[14][15]
In the aftermath of the Petrov Affair in 1954, Prime Minister Robert Menzies established the Royal Commission on espionage.[16] Pape was one of two counsel retained to assist the Chief Counsel for the Commonwealth.[Note 3][17]
See also
Notes
- Chief Counsel for the Commonwealth was Victor Windeyer, QC. His junior counsel were Pape and Mr B.B. Riley of Sydney.[17][18]