The Macrossan Lecture series
In 2023, a new Macrossan lecture series was established by The TC Beirne School of Law and the UQ Law Association (UQLA). The annual public lectures will be given in the Banco Court of the Supreme Court of Queensland to celebrate the commencement of each academic year. In the spirit of the original lecture series, distinguished Australians will be invited to address varied topics of public importance.
This year's lecture: What is missing from modern legal education?
The modern paradigm of legal education in Australia involves providing school-leavers with a general overview of the main areas of doctrinal law, with access to a limited selection of elective subjects. After a short period of practical legal training and work experience, our graduates are then deemed fit for admission as legal practitioners.
But are they? In an increasingly complex legal system, most practitioners are now specialists. Their expertise is in criminal law, administrative law, construction law, tax law, or another similar specialty. At present, however, our system of legal education does little to assist graduates to acquire specialised knowledge and skills of this kind. This lecture explores how this gap can be filled by a Master of Laws course, which is designed to meet the needs of early career practitioners.
About this year's presenter
Adjunct Professor John McKenna KC has been in practice at the Queensland Bar for over 30 years. He undertook his primary law degree at The University of Queensland, before completing a Bachelor of Civil Laws at the University of Oxford with the support of a Rhodes Scholarship. He is the President of the University of Queensland Law Alumni Association and has been presenting LLM courses at UQ for over 10 years.
About the lecture series
Origin of the Macrossan Memorial Lectureship
On 7 August 1925, the Macrossan family donated £2000 to The University of Queensland, under a deed of trust, to fund an annual lecture on subjects of public interest. It was the first lectureship of its kind established in Queensland. Pursuant to the terms of the trust, it was “the duty of the John Murtagh Macrossan lecturer to lecture in Brisbane on some subject to be approved by the Senate relating to— (a) the life and work of any person, not living at the time of the lecture, who has rendered distinguished service in public life to Australia or any of the Australian States and Colonies; (b) Australian History; (c) Political Economy; (d) Sociology; (e) Science; (f) Law ; (g) Art; or (h) Literature”.
Macrossan Memorial Lectures
In March 1928, the first John Macrossan Memorial Lecturers were announced by the UQ Senate. Both were lawyers. Mr WA Holman KC was to give a series of two lectures in the Albert Hall in Brisbane, in April 1928, on the subject of “The Australian Constitution: Its Interpretation and Amendment”. Mr JG Latham, who was later to become the Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, was to give another series of two lectures in the Albert Hall in Brisbane, in November 1928, on the subject of “Australia and the British Commonwealth”. From 1928 to 1993, Macrossan Lectures were given almost every year by distinguished Australians on a broad range of topics of public interest. Many of the lecturers were notable lawyers, including Mr Justice HV Evatt (1936), Mr Acting Justice AD Graham (1938), Sir Thomas Bavin (1940), and Sir Victor Windeyer (1976). Most of these lectures were individually published – but were never collected in a single volume. From 1952, the lectures began to be given at the St Lucia campus, rather than in the city. By 1993, however, the Macrossan Memorial Fund appears to have been exhausted and the lectures ceased.
John Murtagh Macrossan
John Murtagh Macrossan (1833-91) was born in County Donegal in Ireland and emigrated to Australia at the age of 20 to seek his fortune in the gold rushes. By 1865, he had moved to North Queensland, where he became a leading figure amongst the miners. In 1873, he became a member of the Legislative Assembly and commenced a long career in politics (1873-91). He served two terms in the government, as Secretary for Public Works and Mines (1879-83, 1888-90) and a short term as Colonial Secretary and Secretary for Mines (1890). He died whilst representing Queensland, with Sir Samuel Griffith, at the Australasian National Convention in Sydney in March 1891. The Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB) observes that “Macrossan emerged as one of the earliest and ablest of the apostles of Federation. Contemporaries have recorded his fervent, infectious enthusiasm and clear grasp of principles. In the convention debates he stands out for his knowledge and admiration of American precedent. Bernhard Wise and Alfred Deakin recorded that he was a quiet speaker but stress the detail and incisiveness of his argument.”
In 1874, Macrossan married Bridget Queely in Townsville. They had eight children – with four of the children becoming practising lawyers. Remarkably, three of his descendants served as Chief Justice of Queensland.
John Michael Macrossan (1877-1926) was a solicitor who became a partner of the Brisbane firm of Bergin, Papi and Macrossan.
Hugh Denis Macrossan (1881-1940) was a graduate of the University of Sydney, who became a barrister, a Judge of the Supreme Court (1926) and then Chief Justice of Queensland (1940).
Vincent Eugene James Macrossan (1883-1969) was a solicitor, who founded the firm of Macrossan & Amiet in Mackay (1920) and then the firm of Macnish & Macrossan in Brisbane (1952). He was the father of John Murtagh Macrossan, who became a barrister and then a Judge of the Supreme Court (1980) and Chief Justice of Queensland (1989-98).
Neal William Macrossan (1889-1955) was one of Queensland’s first Rhodes Scholars, who graduated in law from the University of Oxford (Magdalen College). He married the daughter of a leading Queensland businessman, TC Beirne, and after a long career at the bar in Queensland, became a Judge of the Supreme Court (1940) and then Chief Justice of Queensland (1946-55). His grandchildren include former Justice Hugh Fraser of the Queensland Court of Appeal, and his brother, Don Fraser KC.
NW Macrossan, and his father-in-law, TC Beirne, were instrumental in the establishment of the Law School at The University of Queensland.
The Honourable Geoffrey Lance Davies AO was appointed to the Bench of the newly established Court of Appeal of Queensland on 16 December 1991. Before this, however, he was admitted to the Bar in 1962. His Honour took silk in 1976 and from 1986, he practised exclusively in appellate jurisdictions. He appeared in many High Court of Australia and Privy Council matters of constitutional and commercial importance. He was President of the Australian Bar Association from 1987 to 1988, President of the Queensland Bar Association from 1987 to 1989, and at the time of his appointment to the Court of Appeal, a Vice-President of the Law Council of Australia. From 1989 he was the Solicitor-General for the State of Queensland, the first member of the private Bar to hold that position. At the same time, he retained his private practice. From 1994 to 1996, he was Chairman of the Litigation Reform Commission which was charged with reforming both civil and criminal procedure in Queensland. 
The Honourable Hugh Fraser KC was awarded a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from The University of Queensland in 1978. In 1979 he was admitted as a barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland while serving as associate to the Honourable Justice James Dunn, Supreme Court of Queensland. After employment as a law clerk with Henderson & Lahey (Solicitors) in 1980, he commenced practise as a barrister at the private bar in 1981. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1992. He served as a Council Member (2005–06), Vice President (2006–07) and President (2007–08) of the Bar Association of Queensland, Director of the Law Council of Australia (2007–08) and Honorary Treasurer of the Australian Bar Association (2007–08).