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Sir Harry Gibbs Memorial Oration
In 2005, the Board of The Samuel Griffith Society resolved that arrangements should be made for the delivery of a lecture in honour of its founding President, to be known as the "Sir Harry Gibbs Memorial Oration", and that this Oration should be given annually or biennially at Society conferences thereafter.
The Rt Hon Sir Harry Talbot Gibbs AC, GCMG, KBE, QC - President of The Samuel Griffith Society (1992-2005)
Inaugural Sir Harry Gibbs Memorial Oration: 2006 (Canberra)
The Honourable Justice John Dyson Heydon AC
Chief Justice Gibbs: Defending the Rule of Law in a Federal System
Second Sir Harry Gibbs Memorial Oration: 2008 (Sydney)
The Honourable Ian David Francis Callinan AC
Superior Courts in the Republic of Australia
Third Sir Harry Gibbs Memorial Oration: 2010 (Perth)
Bryan Pape
Stopping Stimulus Spending
The Honourable Justice Patrick Keane AC delivers the Ninth Sir Harry Gibbs Memorial Oration in Perth
Fourth Sir Harry Gibbs Memorial Oration: 2012 (Brisbane)
The Honourable George Henry Brandis QC
In Defence of Freedom of Speech
Fifth Sir Harry Gibbs Memorial Oration: 2013 (Sydney)
The Honourable John Dyson Heydon AC
Sir Samuel Griffith as Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia
“We must hope that the future raises up people of his intelligence, energy and decency to defend the rule of law in our federal system as worthily as he did”
The Hon Justice Dyson Heydon AC, Inaugural Sir Harry Gibbs Memorial Oration (2006)
Sixth Sir Harry Gibbs Memorial Oration: 2014 (Melbourne)
Major-General the Honourable Justice Richard R S Tracey AM, RFD
The Constitution Goes to War
The Honourable Chief Justice Robert French AC delivers the Eighth Sir Harry Gibbs Memorial Oration in Adelaide
Seventh Sir Harry Gibbs Memorial Oration: 2015 (Canberra)
Nicholas Cowdery AM, QC
Magna Carta: Its History & Enduring Relevance
Eighth Sir Harry Gibbs Memorial Oration: 2016 (Adelaide)
The Honourable Chief Justice Robert Shenton French AC
Giving and Taking Offence
Ninth Sir Harry Gibbs Memorial Oration: 2017 (Perth)
The Honourable Justice Patrick Anthony Keane AC
The Zeitgeist and the Constitution
The Honourable Chief Justice Susan Kiefel AC delivers the Tenth Sir Harry Gibbs Memorial Oration in Brisbane
Tenth Sir Harry Gibbs Memorial Oration: 2018 (Brisbane)
The Honourable Chief Justice Susan Mary Kiefel AC
The High Court Justices and the Weight of War
Eleventh Sir Harry Gibbs Memorial Oration: 2019 (Melbourne)
The Honourable Justice Geoffrey Arthur Akeroyd Nettle AC
Sir Harry Gibbs: A Legal Conservative
Twelfth Sir Harry Gibbs Memorial Oration: 2022 (Sydney)
The Honourable Chief Justice James Allsop AO
Being a Judge
Thirteenth Sir Harry Gibbs Memorial Oration: 2023 (Melbourne)
Allan Myers AC, KC
Two Recent Constitutional Cases
The Fourteenth Sir Harry Gibbs Memorial Oration will be delivered by The Honourable James Edelman, Justice of the High Court of Australia, at the Society’s 2024 Conference (24-26 May 2024) on the Gold Coast (register now).