Herbert Vere (‘Doc’) Evatt was born on 30 April 1894 at East Maitland, New South Wales. He was educated at the Fort Street High School in Sydney and later at the University of Sydney, from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with triple first class honours, an MA with first class honours (1917), a Bachelor of Law and University Medal, a Doctor of Law and University Medal (1924) and a D Litt (1944). In 1918, Evatt joined the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and the same year was admitted to the Bar in NSW. Over the next ten years he built up a very successful legal practice and was appointed a King's Counsel in 1929. As member for Balmain in the NSW Legislative Assembly (1925-30), Evatt was also an outspoken critic of the Premier, J T Lang.

In 1930, Evatt became a Justice of the High Court of Australia, the youngest appointment to the bench at that time (he was 36). In this period, he was also President of the Board of Trustees of the New South Wales Public Library and the Mitchell Library (1936-37), published several books and became a well-known art patron and supporter of the Contemporary Art Society. He resigned from the High Court to contest the federal elections of September 1940. Elected ALP member for Barton (NSW) in the House of Representatives, he held the seat until 1958 when he moved to the seat of Hunter (NSW).

Evatt was Attorney-General and Minister for External Affairs in both the Curtin and Chifley Governments (1941-49). He was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1942 and an honorary master of the bencher of the Middle Temple in 1944.

During the Second World War, Evatt was also a member of the Advisory War Council (1941-45), Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Reconstruction (1941) and a member of the Advisory Committee on Censorship (1944). As Attorney-General, he was mainly preoccupied with the ban on the Communist Party, alien internees and constitutional change. His external affairs responsibilities included official visits to Washington and London, and as leader (with F M Forde) of the Australian delegation to the United Nations Conference in San Francisco in April 1945 which led to the signing of the UN Charter.

After the war, Evatt was less effective as Attorney-General, but played a prominent role in the United Nations. He was also leader of the Australian delegation to the Paris Peace Conference (1946), first President of the Atomic Energy Commission (1946) and Chairman of the British Commonwealth Conference on the Japanese Peace Treaty (1947).

In October 1946, Evatt succeeded Forde as Deputy Leader of the ALP and in June 1951, on the death of J B Chifley, he became Leader of the Opposition. Over the next few years, he opposed anti-communist legislation and appeared as a counsel at the Petrov inquiry. He also survived three leadership challenges, including one made during the ALP split which resulted in the establishment of the Democratic Labor Party (DLP) in 1955. In February 1960, Evatt resigned from federal politics to take up an appointment as Chief Justice of New South Wales. He retired in October 1962 and died in Canberra on 2 November 1965.

Publications:

Include

Conveyancing Precedents and Forms (with J G Beckenham) (Sydney, Law Book Company, 1923)

The British Dominions as Mandatories (Melbourne, Melbourne University Press, 1934)

The King and His Dominion Governors (London, Oxford University Press, 1936)

Australia on the Home Front, 1914-1918 (Sydney, New Century Press, 1937)

Injustice within the Law (Sydney, Law Book Company, 1937)

The Rum Rebellion (Sydney, Angus and Robertson, 1938)

Australian Labor Leader: the Story of W A Holman and the Labour Movement (Sydney, Angus and Robertson, 1940)

Post-War Reconstruction: a Case for Greater Commonwealth Powers (Canberra, Government Printer, 1942)

Australia in World Affairs (Sydney, Angus and Robertson, 1946)

The United Nations (Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1948)

The Task of Nations (Westport, Conn., Greenwood Press, c1949)

Sources:

Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol 14, 1940-1980, pp 108-114

Parliamentary Handbook, 12^th ed, 1951-56

Who’s Who in Australia, 1947and 1965 eds

Agency associated with person unregistered

    1925-    1927: New South Wales, Legislative Assembly Member for
                   Balmain (ALP)
    1927-    1930: New South Wales, Legislative Assembly Member for
                   Balmain (Independent Labor)
Feb 1945         : Australian delegation to the Far Eastern Committee
                   of the Council of UNRRA, Lapstone, NSW - delegate
Apr 1945         : Australian delegation to the United Nations
                   Conference on International Organization, San
                   Francisco - delegate
Sep 1945         : Council of Foreign Ministers, London - Australian
                   representative
Oct 1945         : Far Eastern Advisory Commission, Washington -
                   Australian representative
    1946         : Australian Delegation to the Paris Peace
                   Conference - Leader
Sep 1947-Dec 1947: Australian delegation to the United Nations
                   General Assembly, 2nd Session - Leader
    1947         : South Pacific Region Conference, Canberra -
                   President
    1947         : British Commonwealth Conference on Japanese Peace
                   Treaty - Chairman
Jul 1948-Jun 1949: Australian delegation to the United Nations
                   General Assembly, 3rd Session, 1st Part, Paris -
                   Leader elected President of Session
    1960-?   1965: New South Wales, High Court - Chief Justice