Maurice Hearne Byers CBE QC LLB (1917 - 1999)

Born 10 Nov 1917 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Husband of Patricia Therese (Davis) Byers — married 1949 in Five Dock, New South Wales, Australia

Died 17 Jan 1999 at age 81 in Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Maurice Byers CBE QC LLB is Notable.

Sir Maurice Byers CBE QC LLB was a noted Australian jurist and constitutional expert. He was the Commonwealth Solicitor-General for ten years. He had an unmatched record of success in his appearances before the High Court of Australia, and he has been characterised as the finest lawyer never to have been appointed to the High Court.

Maurice Byers CBE QC LLB was born in New South Wales, Australia

Maurice Hearne Byers was born on 10th November 1917 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He was the third of five sons of Arthur Byers and Mabel Hearne. ^[1] He attended St Aloysius' College in Sydney before entering the University of Sydney to study law.

Maurice was a Barrister

Upon graduation with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree, he was admitted to the Bar in 1944. Building his practice in Sydney, he specialised in the fields of equity, taxation, company and constitutional law. ^[2]

Maurice married Patricia Davis, a nurse, on 13th January 1949 in All Hallows Roman Catholic Church, Five Dock, in Sydney's western suburbs. ^[3] The couple subsequently had a daughter, Barbara, and two sons, Mark and Peter.

He appeared frequently before the Privy Council and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1960. Maurice was President of the New South Wales Bar Association from 1965 to 1967. He was a Member of the Executive Council of the Law Council of Australia from 1966 to 1968. In 1973 he was appointed Commonwealth Solicitor-General, serving until 1983. He had an unparalleled success rate when appearing before the High Court in that capacity. ^[2]

Maurice was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the Queen's Birthday Honours 1978 'in recognition of service to the law'. ^[4] In the New Year Honours 1982 Maurice was created Knight Bachelor 'in recognition of service to public service'. ^[5]

Aged 81 years, he passed away on 17th January 1999 in Darlinghurst, New South Wales and is buried in Northern Suburbs Cemetery, North Ryde. ^[2]

On entering the legal profession, Maurice's ambition had been to become the best constitutional lawyer in the country. His peers considered he achieved his goal. ^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ New South Wales Birth Index #41050/1917
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Sir Maurice Byers Kt CBE QC; accessed 5 Apr 2024
3. ↑ New South Wales Marriage Index #2349/1949
4. ↑ Australian Honours: Knight Bachelor; accessed 5 Apr 2024
5. ↑ Australian Honours: Knight Bachelor; accessed 5 Apr 2024

See also:

• Sir Maurice Byers Kt CBE QC; accessed 5 Apr 2024.
• Sackar, John. 'Byers, Sir Maurice Hearne (1917–1999)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published online 2023; accessed online 5 Apr 2024.
• Wikipedia: Maurice Byers; accessed 5 Apr 2024.