The Brilliant Boy: Doc Evatt and the Great Australian Dissent

by Gideon Haigh

H. V. ‘Doc’ Evatt has long been obscured by Menzies’s broad shadow, as the Labor Opposition Leader through the prosperous and complacent 1950s. In this book, one of our finest writers and sharpest minds shows Evatt in his true light: the most brilliant Australian of his day. Inspiring, cosmopolitan and humane, Evatt was the forerunner of Keating and Kirby, believing that Australia could be more than quiet and comfortable – it could be an example to the world of a compassionate, just, progressive society.

An acclaimed advocate, champion of modern art and state member for Balmain in the NSW Parliament, in 1930 Evatt became Australia’s youngest ever High Court judge, a regular dissenter from this arch conservative body as he tried to make the law responsive to the rapidly-changing modern world. Haigh traces one case in particular – that of the Chester family, who sued Waverley Council for the trauma of their young son's drowning in an unfenced ditch. Evatt’s legal brilliance, intellectual independence and personal empathy combined in a judgement regarded as the finest of its era, arguing that people’s inner lives were as valuable as their physical selves, and ought to be recognised as such by the law. The idea was far ahead of its time, but is now a fundamental legal principle.

Evatt had been attuned to grief by losing two brothers in the First World War, which contributed both to his zest for life and his belief that the world should offer sanctuary to the afflicted. This conviction had long-lasting expression: as Australia’s only ever President of the UN General Assembly, Evatt was instrumental in the establishment of Israel. There are not many of whom it might be said that leading their party in federal politics was a step down, but Evatt was such a figure.

The Brilliant Boy is a feat of remarkable historical perception, deep research and masterful storytelling. It confirms Gideon Haigh as not only our finest cricket writer, but one of our best writers of non-fiction. In painting this bigger picture of our past, The Brilliant Boy allows us to think differently about our present and future.

Genres: Biography, Politics, Nonfiction, History, Law, Australia

Kindle Edition

Published July 7, 2021

About the author

Gideon Clifford Jeffrey Davidson Haigh (born 29 December 1965) is an English-born Australian journalist, who writes about sport (especially cricket) and business. He was born in London, raised in Geelong, and now lives in Melbourne.

Haigh began his career as a journalist, writing on business for The Age newspaper from 1984 to 1992 and for The Australian from 1993 to 1995. He has since contributed to over 70 newspapers and magazines,[2] both on business topics as well as on sport, mostly cricket. He wrote regularly for The Guardian during the 2006-07 Ashes series and has featured also in The Times and the Financial Times.

Haigh has authored 19 books and edited seven more. Of those on a cricketing theme, his historical works includes The Cricket War and Summer Game, his biographies The Big Ship (of Warwick Armstrong) and Mystery Spinner (of Jack Iverson), the latter pronounced The Cricket Society's "Book of the Year", short-listed for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year and dubbed "a classic" by The Sunday Times;[3] anthologies of his writings Ashes 2005 and Game for Anything, as well as Many a Slip, the humorous diary of a club cricket season, and The Vincibles, his story of the South Yarra Cricket Club, of which he is life member and perennate vice-president and for whose newsletter he has written about cricket the longest. He has also published several books on business-related topics, such as The Battle for BHP, Asbestos House (which dilates the James Hardie asbestos controversy) and Bad Company, an examination of the CEO phenomenon. He mostly publishes with Aurum Press.

Haigh was appointed editor of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack Australia for 1999–2000 and 2000–01. Since March 2006, he has been a regular panellist on the ABC television sports panel show Offsiders. He was also a regular co-host on The Conversation Hour with Jon Faine on 774 ABC Melbourne until near the end of 2006.

Haigh has been known to be critical of what he regards as the deification of Sir Donald Bradman and "the cynical exploitation of his name by the mediocre and the greedy".[4] He did so in a September 1998 article in Wisden Cricket Monthly, entitled "Sir Donald Brandname". Haigh has been critical of Bradman's biographer Roland Perry, writing in The Australian that Perry's biography was guilty of "glossing over or ignoring anything to Bradman's discredit".[4]

Haigh won the John Curtin Prize for Journalism in the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards in 2006[5] for his essay "Information Idol: How Google is making us stupid",[6] which was published in The Monthly magazine. He asserted that the quality of discourse could suffer as a source of information's worth is judged by Google according to its previous degree of exposure to the status quo. He believes the pool of information available to those using Google as their sole avenue of inquiry is inevitably limited and possibly compromised due to covert commercial influences.

He blogged on the 2009 Ashes series for The Wisden Cricketer.[7]

On 24 October 2012 he addressed the tenth Bradman Oration in Melbourne.

Reviews

[Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are two brilliant boys referenced in this book, one being the enigmatic jurist and politician Dr Herbert Vere Evatt. This book is not a biography of Evatt nor does Gideon Haigh intend it to be such though it does give us an exceptional understanding of the character of the man and, to some extent, his achievements. It is more to do with the pursuit of justice and its frustration by conservative wisdom and legal precedent. The second brilliant boy, Maxie Chester aged 7, died of misadventure in 1937. Maxie’s death was profoundly detrimental for his family and in particular his mother, Golda. At a time before the acknowledgement of the reality of post-traumatic stress disorder the courts disregarded the implications or existence of such ‘nervous’ illness. This book highlights Evatt’s landmark dissent to the findings of the High Court in the Chester case, its legal implications, consequences and his foresight. Having said that there is so much more to this book. It tells of the times, the politics, the legal process and the people that were a part of Evatt’s life and times. This is an informative, engaging and well written book.

[Rod Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gideon Haigh is a brilliant writer. He conveys complex ideas, emotions and legal precedents and cases cleverly and with empathy. I’ve read his cricket writing and now this book. I’ve always been fascinated by Evatt, this book has both renewed and intensified that fascination. I suspect Gideon could make a dull story interesting- he didn’t need to here because the career of Evatt just has to be studied to be believed! It was an amazing trajectory with an ongoing impact on us all. I highly recommend this to any reader.

[Ron Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a baby boomer HV Evatt had always been part of Australian Labor Party folklore but I only had a smattering of his story. Gideon Haigh has certainly filled many of those gaps. Haigh is a fine wordsmith and the text in this book flows eloquently.
The question I asked myself on finishing this book was (excuse me Mr Shakespeare) was Evatt more sinned than sinning? Did his strengths outweigh his weaknesses? Was he good for the Labor Party? How important were his personal qualities? Gideon opinions on this in the final chapter and this is an aspect of his writings that I appreciate. He is forthright in his summary of the Evatt the person, the lawyer and the family man
In my associated reading I read a strident criticism of Evatt because of his attitude to Indigenous Australians and his role in the partition of Palestine.
Too often in today’s media filled world there is someone willing to totally damn someone because of one of their decisions or one specific quote attributed to them. One thing is certain, H V Evatt achieved much in his 70 odd years on this planet. He undoubtedly had a brilliant mind.
The book is centred around a court case known as the “Chester” case. A seven-year-old immigrant boy drowns in a council dug ditch, the mother is traumatised, the case winds it's way to the high court where Evatt hands down the “great dissent” when he writes a landmark 14,000 word dissenting judgement, written in rich literary style infused with literary and cultural references. A judgement that entered judicial folklore.
Throughout the book Haigh mentions numerous negligence cases. One that interested me was when seventeen-year-old Sidney Corben had been hurled from a suburban train and died as a result of the train’s violent lurching action on a bend in the tracks. Part of my youth was travelling on these “red rattler” trains, standing by the open door and hanging on in fear of being flung out of the doorway.
This is a book of intellect and emotion. Haigh bookends the Evatt story with a reference to Ken McCaffery, a young boy who was a witness at the initial court case who subsequently went on to be a great rugby league player who represented Australia and who tested and awarded the author of this review with his Schoolboy Rugby League badge. Haigh spoke with McCaffery when he started writing the book and phoned him when he finished only to find that Ken had “gone.” It was a moving touch to a superbly written account of a brilliant and patriotic Australian.

[Lachlan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of a fascinating life, told well. Particularly enjoyed a glimpse into the inner workings of the High Court.
In my view, the book was let down only by the use of some pretty archaic language at times.

[Patrick Groenewegen · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best biographies I’ve read. Playfully, critically and sensitively written. An intriguing subject at the heart of the High Courts most intriguing period. Miles ahead of Ayres’ Dixon

[Rebecca Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating

The inside workings of the High Court might sound rather dry, but in this book it becomes an enthralling story about power, ambition, humanity and social change. Very well written to ensure the attention is captured. Recommended.

[Vin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The biographies of Australia's political leaders are important documents. It is good to read of their earlier personal and professional lives as well as their political efforts and achievements. Gideon Haigh provides a unique insight into the mind and heart of Doc Evatt in his stellar career in the law before his leadership role in the ALP. Evatt's work in the High Court is important history in its own right. An engrossing read.

[Adnamy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Heavy going
And was it worth it ?
I do not know
It was looooooooong

[Maya Ranganathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essentially a brilliantly written gossip fest for young lawyers. Owen Dixon shadow wrote judgments? Starke J was a curmudgeonly, churlish idiot? Rich J was lazy as sin? Give me MORE!!

[jonathan Moody · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a teenager, I spent 3 years in the US, where my father had been posted as NY correspondent for the Sydney 'Daily Telegraph'. Early in 1946 he took me with him to the first meeting of UN Security Council at Lake Success in Nassau County, NY where I stood beside him while he interviewed Mr Stettinius, US Secretary of State. We went into the Journalists Bar where I saw on close circuit TV, Dr H.V.Evatt, Australian Minister of External Affairs giving a speech. My father took notes in shorthand. The next day I had to give a talk about the UN visit to my class at New Canaan Junior High.
This comprehensive book by Gideon Haigh fills in all the gaps in my knowledge about H.V.Evatt. who was in Australian public life for over 30 years.
His early life was saddened by the infant death of two brothers, then at age only 7 his father died. The family moved from Maitland to Sydney where Bert Evatt attended Fort St Model School. He had outstanding results and then major success at Sydney University, where he eventually received a Doctor of Laws degree. He had a brief period in NSW legislative assembly and then work as an industrial advocate before being appointed to the bench of the High Court at age only 36 !
Bert Evatt also lost two older brothers in WW 1. He married in 1920 and adopted two children as his wife had medical issues.
Dr Evatt had a 10 year career on the High Court before going into federal politics in NSW, where he became Attorney General and Minister of External Affairs, Then after 1949 he became Leader of the Opposition. He also had a brief period with the United Nations in NY.
His final public office was Chief Justice of NSW for 2 years. Dr Evatt was widely respected across the political spectrum, and after his death in 1965 at age 71 one of the pall bearers was Sir Robert Menzies, his longtime political opponent !

[Peter Langston · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gideon Haigh, one of my favourite authors, says in the acknowledgements for this book "we write a great deal in Australia about crime and punishment, comparatively little about the law" and the book which proceeds it is sound evidence why. Much of it is consumed by the law legal proceedings and its precedents which so often rule what follows. As such, it makes the country out beyond Julia Creek look like a rain forest. Dry and to most readers dull, Evatt's story is a subscript to the journey of law in relation to compensation for what became post traumatic stress disorder. Starting with the tragic case of small boy drowned in a council ditch in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs in 1937 (Maxie Chester), the refusal of various courts to recognise the mental distress the death generated on the boy's mother was salved and eventually reversed based on the dissenting decision of Evatt as a High Court judge two years later. It would take a long fight from there to bring justice.
I wanted more of Evatt and less of "Chester" and all the other cases. It wasn't until the final chapter and the epilogue that Haigh put us beside Evatt and let us see the man. That I misjudged the purpose of the book, is now obvious but it fails to relieve my frustration with it.

[Zac McDougall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gideon Haigh, brilliant as always.

This book is a biography of HV Evatt’s time on the High Court, centred around his famous dissenting judgment in Chester v Waverley Municipal Council (1939) 62 CLR 1.

The opening chapter may take one by surprise: the initial ‘brilliant boy’ referred to is not Evatt, but Maxie Chester, a seven-year-old child who drowned in a flooded ditch in Waverley, Sydney. His mother, Glenda, saw her son pulled from the mud, and never recovered, suffering severe mental health issues. The tradegy could have only occured because of the negligence of the council, they clearly would have been liable to Max. But what about Glenda? She was a bystander, she suffered no physical injury; only psychological.

As those who have studied torts would know, the Court held the Council was not liable to Glenda for ‘nervous shock’; pure psychiatric injury. But Evatt J dissented, arguing forcefully that the Council’s duty of care necessarily extends to secondary victims, going beyond the physical injury to Max but also to the reasonable foreseeable psychological effects on parties such as rescuers and family members. As we now know, Evatt’s approach has been vindicated. The High Court has said Evatt’s approach was correct, and the common law now recognises claims for reasonably foreseeable psychiatric injury as a result of another’s physical harm.

Haigh’s book brings humanity to life on the High Court bench. I, for one, have never had much interest in the realms of torts and private law - and the book is about much more than Chester’s case. But Haigh shines light on an otherwise underappreciated chapter of Australian history. Evatt is generally spoken about for his, not so successful, political career. Yet as Haigh shows, Evatt too was a ‘brilliant boy’, admired throughout the common law world for his literary and humanitarian approach to jurisprudence.

[Janine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very clever title, this one. There are two 'brilliant boys' in this book. One is only seven years old, and one afternoon in 1937 he disappears into a badly-fenced trench from which he is dragged, lifeless, some time later. The youngest child of a family of Polish emigrants, Maxie Chester was his mother's 'brilliant boy'. The other is 'Doc' Evatt: prize-winning student, lawyer, judge, attorney-general, leader of the Opposition for the Labor Party, and President of the United Nations General Assembly. In this book, Gideon Haigh brings the two together in an analysis of the court case Chester v the Council of the Municipality of Waverley (1939) where Evatt issued a poignantly written dissenting judgement that revealed his humanity and erudition. This book is the story of this case, interwoven into a biography of Evatt himself.
...
Haigh walks around his subject, viewing him from multiple perspectives: student, husband, father, legal practitioner, politician, international diplomat, historian and public intellectual. As a work of biography, it is masterful in cracking the humanity in the Chester case – both the poignancy of Maxie’s death and the humanity of Evatt’s response to it – and using that case as the fulcrum on which Haigh balances other perspectives of a public life.
...
I’ve read my share of judicial biography, and this book stands apart in the roundedness of its approach. It acknowledges Evatt’s flawed genius and locates the man and his work within the political and judicial currents running at the time. It’s very good.

For my complete review, please visit:
https://residentjudge.com/2022/01/09/...

[Jesse Cuthbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an international relations graduate, Doc Evatt is one of my idols. His approach to Australia’s place in the world and commitment to multilateral institutions are a guiding principle for my own approach to the world. So going into this book I was exciting to learn more about the man I look up to.

The book was definitely not strictly what I was anticipating. ‘The Brilliant Boy’ is not solely a biography of Evatt, but a legal history of the man who was at a time, one of Australia’s most senior and learned jurists. Focusing on the implications of one case in particular - Chester v Waverley Council - the book explores the legal implications of this case and how these impacted on Evatt’s thinking and worldview.

It provides interesting context to Evatt’s thinking, and I suspect would be far more enjoyable a read to law students than international relations ones. If you’re interested in understanding more about Doc Evatt, the foreign minister, you probably won’t find what you’re looking for here. But if you’re interested in understanding Doc Evatt, the judge, the politician and the almost-Prime Minister, then you will find this book enlightening to a often forgotten giant of Australian history.

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

No one ever doubted the brilliance of Doc Evatt as a high court judge, but there was always a problem in understanding what he was really on about. Politically he was an uneasy fit in the Australian Labor Party where someone as clever as the 'Doc' was treated with suspicion by the other members who had literally walked on the work site and into Parliament, rather than from academia. The author uses an interesting device of the 'Chester' case as a recurring story running through the narrative, which also shows the compassionate side of his subject as well as his legal brilliance. He also shows the bitchy vindictive nature of judges in scoring points of each other in the judgements they make and also the politics of high level appointments where the 'numbers' dictate the choice rather than the best man for the job. Although the books follows chronological order at times I found it hard to follow, but I am sufficiently interested in the subject to seek out more biographic books on 'Doc' Evatt.

[Esmeralda Rocha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt like this was trying to do two things: 1) explore Evatt's judicial career 2) examine the evolution of tort law via the prism of competing views across multiple countries and Australian dissenting rulings.

And with a twist of examining life for the Jewish diaspora in Australia between the wars.

And therefore it did none of these things particularly well.

Haigh's writing was also at times overwrought and too clever by half. A shame because the chosen subject matter was interesting.

[Bres · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book deceived me in that I thought it would be a biography of Evatt. It is partly that but not fully and hence I was disappointed. With a lot of focus on law and particular cases (understandable as Evatt was a judge) it gets a bit bogged down. While it is of interest the depth and detail here frustrated me (a non-legal person). It is used to highlight the character of Evatt but I think it is overdone as the tool. It did highlight the challenge then (and now) of being an intellectual Australian and to that end it is good to read about someone who does stand apart in that regard.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

On balance, this was an informative read. The focus is on Dr Herbert Vere Evatt’s legal career, particularly his dissenting judgement as a High Court judge on the Chester case. At times, particularly later in the work, the writer gets bogged down in some legal cases. However, overall, this work is well researched, and fills a gap in scholarship about Evatt which tends to focus on his political career. This work is recommended.

[Troy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very informative and interesting read. Far more academic, perhaps, than I'd expected. And more about Doc's legal career than his political one. The snippets of history are what I found intriguing at times, the fact that his long rival Menzies was a pall bearer for instance. His rise to the high court. I would welcome a deeper dive into the political climate of the time, however this was a fascinating insight into both Doc Evatt and the legal system in Australia post Federation.

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched, compellingly written, fair without being hagiographic. A great read.

The book covers an understudied period of Evatt's contribution to Australia - his legal writing and contribution to the law. While many have written on Evatt and his political career, the author carefully dives into this niche, punctuated with the intrigue of the legal profession in Sydney and the high court in the 1920s and 30s.

Well worth the time to read it!

[Alan Bevan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a strange biography, one where I felt the life being studied was barely revealed. He seemed a distant character, a shadowy player in a myriad of legal cases and political dramas. It is a book about the events occurring around Evatt, leaving the man himself distant and somewhat mysterious. I struggled to stay engaged.

[Jonathan Steffanoni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book illuminates the development of compassionate liberalism as the law of negligence is is the process of settling. The contradictions and synergies in Evatt seem personally intimate while also setting the foundation of Australian jurisprudence and politics.

The book is legally and historically astute, and written with a masterful turn of phrase.

[Neil · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this was a biography, it was not at all. Yes Doc Evatt was a lawyer, but I struggled with the quotation of the legal cases, and their subsequent dryness and obscurity. A straight biography may have been better, but was there enough interest in his life to warrant it? Yes, if you’re looking for an interesting biography it’s not here.

[Richard Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very well written book which provides fascinating insights into a critical period in Australia's emergence as a nation. Inspirational in many ways and certainly highly recommended reading.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really well written and researched book on Evatt, largely focused on his time as an jurist in the 30s.

[Darcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a different take on a memoir. It is quite episodic and the book does not move at a constant pace. Said does not take away from the book but rather contributes to it. The book is able to focus extensively on Evatt as a jurist. It is on this basis that insights about Evatt is revealed.

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elegantly written. It engagingly covered both legal, social and history topics with ease.