'Sir John Did His Duty': A Timely Conversation with Sir Garfield Barwick

Abstract

THE SETTING: On 12 November 1975, the day following the dis missal of the Whitlam Government, I addressed a protest letter to Sir Garfield Barwick. I wrote to Barwick, rather than to Sir John Kerr, for two reasons. First, Barwick was then Chancellor of Macquarie University where I had been employed for three years as lecturer in American history. Second, I was particularly intrigued by Barwick's unique role in Australia's historic constitutional crisis. The letter was blunt. I called Kerr's action 'shocking' and 'ill-advised'. I asked Barwick for an explana tion of his position if, as reported, he had given the advice. I did not expect a response to the letter. Hence, I was very surprised when, at 5.15 pm on 19 November, the Registrar of the University rang me at home to ask if I would meet the Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia on the following day when he would be at the campus on routine business. The meeting was subsequently put off at Barwick's re quest until 4.45 pm on Friday 21 November. At a time when every journalist and political scholar in the country would have eagerly changed places with me, I arrived at the Vice-Chancellor's office for my meeting with Barwick. The Vice-Chancellor's secretary led me to a small conference room where Barwick sat alone behind a large desk with only a cup of tea in front of him. He wore a dark suit and a Macquarie University tie. We shook hands. The secretary offered me a cup of coffee and I took a seat in one of the padded chairs arranged in front of Barwick's desk. For the next 45 minutes I was alone with the Chief Justice. I took no notes but, after our conversation, I returned to my office and wrote down what had been said as closely as I could recall it. Some of Barwick's statements had stuck in my mind so clearly that I could quote them exactly. Otherwise, the general nature of the exchange went into my record. Portions of that record were subsequently published in David Marr's Barwick (Sydney: George Allen and Unwin, 1980), pp. 269-270.1 Following the release of Barwick's curious little book, Sir John Did His Duty (Wahroonga, Serendip Publications, 1983), I decided to publish a full account of the conversation.2