Sir Hayden Starke | |
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| Justice of the High Court of Australia | |
| In office 5 February 1920 – 31 January 1950 | |
| Nominated by | Billy Hughes |
| Preceded by | SirEdmund Barton |
| Succeeded by | SirWilfred Fullagar |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 22 February 1871 Creswick, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 14 May 1958 (aged 87) Toorak, Victoria, Australia |
| Spouse | |
Sir Hayden Erskine StarkeKCMG (22 February 1871 – 14 May 1958) was an Australian judge who served on theHigh Court of Australia from 1920 to 1950. He was a prominentMelbourne barrister before his appointment to the court.
Starke was born in 1871 in the Victorian gold rush town ofCreswick, Victoria, where his father was the Chief Medical Officer of the Creswick Hospital. Dr Anthony George Hayden Starke had emigrated fromHoniton inDevon in 1863 to take up the position at the new hospital in this bustling town that then rivalledBallarat. Hayden Starke was educated at theScotch College inMelbourne.
Starke completed a course as anarticled clerk in 1892, and was admitted to theVictorian Bar later that year, having won the annual Prize in Law from theSupreme Court of Victoria. He practised as abarrister until he was appointed to the bench of the High Court in 1920. Between 1903 (when the High Court was created) and 1920, he appeared before the court 211 times, more than any other justice of the court.[1]
Starke was appointed to the High Court in 1920 by theHughes government, following the death of SirEdmund Barton, a foundation member of the court. From 1920 to 1921, he was the Deputy President of theCommonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration.
Starke was a mentor toJohn Latham, anAttorney-General of Australia and laterChief Justice of Australia, although there was later friction between them, when Latham was Chief Justice. Starke had a reputation for being upfront and independent. Although it is common practice for the Chief Justice to compose a list of proposals, identifying which justice will hear which case, Starke would regularly arrive and hear cases, often without notice.[2] Starke had a tendency to dissent from the majority opinions offered by the likes of Latham andOwen Dixon. To some extent, commentators have attributed this to personal disagreements with the other justices, as well as his ideological independence.[3] Starke thought that some justices, such asEdward McTiernan, andGeorge Rich, were too heavily under the influence of Owen Dixon, and is said to have referred to them as "parrots" and "worms".[4] At one stage he was not even on speaking terms with fellow judgeH. V. Evatt. Over 60 years after Starke's retirement, JusticeDyson Heydon, in his reasons for allowing an appeal brought byJayant Patel against manslaughter convictions, noted that Patel's charge sheet listed fraud charges before manslaughter charges and said: "The young Hayden Starke would have applauded this decision to place important questions of dollars and cents ahead of mere manslaughter matters".[5]
In 1939, Starke was created a Knight Commander of theOrder of St Michael and St George. He resigned from the High Court on 31 January 1950. Starke died in 1958. A Chair of Law is named after him at the law school ofMonash University.
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