The Brennan Scholarship - Sir Francis Gerard Brennan AC KBE QC (1951)

Sir Gerard Brennan was the second graduate of the Law School to be appointed a Justice of the High Court of Australia (1981- 95) and then as Chief Justice of the High Court (1995-98). He was awarded a Doctorate of Laws honoris causa by the University in 2006.

Francis Gerard Brennan was born in Rockhampton in 1928. His father, Mr Justice Frank Tennison Brennan, was a Judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland who was serving as the Central Judge based in Rockhampton. FG Brennan attended the Range Convent School and the Christian Brothers College in Rockhampton, then completed his secondary education at Downlands College in Toowoomba. He undertook his tertiary studies at the University of Queensland, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (1949) and Bachelor of Laws (1951). In 1949, he served as the President of the National Union of Students. For some of his time at University, Brennan worked as a Judge’s Associate. He first served as his father’s Associate, after Brennan J was relocated to Brisbane (1947-48). In 1950-51, he served as Townley J’s Associate, initially at the War Crimes Tribunal sitting on Manus Island (1950) and then in the Supreme Court (1951).

In December 1951, Brennan was admitted to the Bar by the Supreme Court of Queensland: re Brennan [1952] QWN 6. In 1953, he married Dr Patricia O’Hara. At the Bar, his talent soon gained him respect and he was regularly briefed in a wide range of matters, both at trial and on appeal in the Full Court and the High Court of Australia. In 1965, he was appointed to the rank of Queen’s Counsel. Then, over the next 11 years, Brennan QC developed an extensive appellate practice and a national reputation. He served as President of the Queensland Bar Association (1974-76), President of the Australian Bar Association (1975-76) and a member of the Australian Law Reform Commission (1975-77)

In 1976, Brennan QC moved to Canberra to take up an appointment as the inaugural President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, together with appointments as a Judge of the Australian Industrial Court and a Judge of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory. In 1977, he became one of the inaugural Judges of the Federal Court of Australia. Then, in 1981, he was appointed a Justice of the High Court of Australia – initially serving on the court with Gibbs CJ. In 1992, he delivered one of his most significant judgments, in the seminal native title case of Mabo v State of Queensland (No 2) (1992) 175 CLR 1. In 1995, Brennan J was appointed Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia. He retired from the Court, at the age of 70, in 1998. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1981) and a Companion of the Order of Australia (1988).

After retirement from the High Court, Sir Gerard was appointed Chancellor of the University of Technology Sydney (1999-2005). He also served as a non-permanent Judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (2000-12), for which he was awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star (2013).

The Brennan family has continuing links to the Law School and the legal profession. One of Sir Gerard’s children (Father Frank Brennan SJ AO) and two of his grandchildren (Kateena O’Gorman and Peter Winkle) are graduates of the Law School. Two other children, Madeline Brennan QC and Tom Brennan SC, are in practice at the Bar.

In 1999, the University, with the support of alumni, established the Sir Gerard Brennan Chair in Law.

Brennan Scholarship Recipients

• 2021 Claire Dover