George Rich

Rich was born in the town of Braidwood, New South Wales, in 1863. He was educated at Sydney Grammar School, and later studied at the University of Sydney, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1883 and a Master of Arts in 1885. In 1887, Rich was admitted to the New South Wales Bar. Around this time he married Betha Bowker, with whom he had two sons and a daughter. Rich remained involved with the University of Sydney, founding the student magazine Hermes, the first publication by the University of Sydney Union, in 1886. He also started the boat club at the university, and in 1889 was among those who established The Women's College at the university. ==Early legal career==

In his legal work, Rich was principally an equity specialist. From 1890 to 1910, Rich lectured in equity part-time at the University of Sydney's law school. He was also the co-author of the first New South Wales-specific textbook on equity practice. He was made a King's Counsel in 1911, and in the same year was appointed as an acting judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. He was made a full judge in 1912. ==High Court==

In 1913, Rich was appointed to the newly created seventh seat on the bench of the High Court of Australia, taking up his seat on 5 April of that year. He was appointed following the resignation of Albert Piddington, who never took up his seat on the High Court but quit amid a controversy over his appointment. There has been some suggestion that Rich was a "safe" choice, because of his uncontroversial and uncombative nature, but Rich's legal ability was rarely questioned. Rich, who retired at age 87, holds the record for being the oldest justice to sit on the bench of the High Court. This record will almost certainly not be broken, since High Court justices now must retire at age 70. It is said that, following the funeral of former justice Sir Isaac Isaacs in 1943, Hayden Starke said to Rich (who at that stage was 80 years old) "George, are you sure it's worth your while going home?" League of Nations Prime Minister Billy Hughes invited Rich to join the official Australian delegation to the Third Assembly of the League of Nations, held in 1922 in Geneva, Switzerland. He represented Australia on two committees – one dealing with "legal and constitutional questions" and the other dealing with "political questions" (including League of Nations mandates). The head of the delegation, former prime minister Joseph Cook, wrote Hughes that Rich's "legal knowledge and experience were most valuable in dealing with the numerous legal points that cropped up from time to time". Rich's membership of the delegation was the first of only three occasions on which a sitting High Court judge has filled a diplomatic role. The other instances occurring during World War II, when John Latham and Owen Dixon held ambassadorships. Rich returned to Australia via the United States, where he conducted a speaking tour. He gave speeches in New York City, Buffalo, and Chicago, promoting the League's activities and criticising the U.S. for refusing to join. ==Retirement==

Rich retired on his eighty-seventh birthday in 1950. Geoffrey Sawer has suggested that Rich delayed his retirement until after the 1949 federal election (at which the conservative Menzies government came to power) in order to prevent the Labor Chifley government from being able to appoint a judge. ==References==