Kenneth (later Sir Kenneth) Hamilton Bailey was born in Canterbury, Victoria in 1898 and was educated at Wesley College, Melbourne, Queens College, University of Melbourne and, as Victorian Rhodes Scholar of 1918, at Corpus Christie College, Oxford. During World War I he served with the AIF's Second Division, Australian Field Artillery. After returning to Australia, Bailey was on the staff of the University of Melbourne for 22 years as Vice-Master of Queens College (1924-27), Professor of Jurisprudence (1928-30) and Professor of Public Law (1931-46).
During World War II, Bailey was also a consultant to the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department, and chaired a committee to examine certain provisions of the Public Service Act which recommended the establishment of Promotion Appeals committees (December 1943). After the war, he was appointed Commonwealth Solicitor-General and Secretary of the Attorney-General's Department, positions which also made him a member of the National Debt Commission and the Commonwealth Practitioners Board respectively (1946-64). Bailey was subsequently Australian High Commissioner to Canada (1964-69) and Special Adviser on International Law attached to the Department of Foreign Affairs (1969-72).
Sir Kenneth Bailey's association with diplomacy had begun quite early in his career. While Vice-Master of Queens College at the University of Melbourne he was asked, with R G Casey and Keith Officer, to join the Department of External Affairs. His commitment to Queens College precluded him from accepting the offer. In later years, however, Bailey was Constitutional Adviser to the Australian Delegation at the 1937 Imperial Conference, a member of Australian Delegations to the British Commonwealth Relations Conferences of 1938 and 1945, the League of Nations in 1937 and to the San Francisco Conference which drew up the United Nations Charter in 1945. His intimate knowledge of the history of many of the Articles of the Charter was invaluable in his subsequent service with the Government. He also attended the meeting of the United Nations Preparatory Commission in 1945 and meetings of the General Assembly in 1946, 1956, 1958, 1962 and 1964 to 1969.
It is probably in the field of international law that Sir Kenneth made his greatest contribution. He attended several major conferences on the subject and was Chairman of the 1953 Conference on the Law of the Sea and leader of the Australian Delegation to the 1958 and 1960 Conferences in Geneva.
Sir Kenneth also had a very close relationship with the Australian National University. He was a member of the Interim Council, appointed in August 1946 to manage the new University's affairs, and was elected by Convocation to the University's first Council (1951-60). He was also a member of the Council of the Canberra University College (1946-61) until its full association with the University. As Chairman of Council's Advisers on Legislation, Sir Kenneth was closely involved with the preparation of the University's early legislation. He also served for a time on the Finance Committee of Council.
Sir Kenneth was appointed a Commander in the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1953, was knighted in 1958 and held honorary Doctorates of Laws from Dalhousie University (Canada), the University of Melbourne and the Australian National University. He died in May 1972.
Sources:
1. British Commonwealth Relations Conference "Who's Who of the
Members of the Conference", 1945
2. Who's Who in Australia 1971, p 69
3. Commonwealth Directory (and Federal Guide), 1947-72 (various issues)
4. Current Notes on International Affairs Obituary: Sir Kenneth
Hamilton Bailey, CBE, QC, May, Volume 43 No 5, pp 222-223
5. The Australian National University News 'Obituary', July 1972,
Volume 7 No 2, p 23