VALE: The Honourable Thomas Eyre Forrest Hughes AO KC

The Australian Bar Association published the following tribute for the Honourable Thomas Eyre Forrest Hughes AO KC who passed away on 28 November 2024.

It is with deep regret that I acknowledge, on behalf of the national Bar, the death of the Hon. Thomas E.F. Hughes AO KC, who died on 28 November 2024, two days after his 101st birthday. 

Tom Hughes was a prominent figure in the Australian legal profession for more than 60 years.  Although his home jurisdiction was the New South Wales Bar, he was also a member of the Victorian Bar from 1961 until his retirement in 2013.  His reach and expertise, however, were not limited to a single Bar, Hughes AO KC was a national figure. 

Hughes was born on 26 November 1923 in Sydney. He was educated at Saint Ignatius College, Riverview. Following the steps of his father and grandfather, he commenced his study of law at the University of Sydney, only to defer in 1940 in order to enlist in the Royal Australian Air Force at only18 years of age.  Between 1943 and 1945, Hughes flew Sunderland flying boats in Europe, escorting Allied convoys and destroying enemy U-boats. He flew with the RAAF’s 10th Squadron over the English Channel during the D-Day invasion of Normandy. He was awarded a number of medals by the British and Australian governments for his courageous military service.  In 2005 the French government bestowed its highest award for military and civil service, the Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, upon Hughes for his service in WWII and in recognition of the role Australia played in the liberation of France.

At the conclusion of World War II, Hughes returned to complete his legal studies.  In 1949, he was called to the New South Wales Bar, becoming one of Her Majesty’s Counsel in 1962.  He served as President of the New South Wales Bar between 1973-1975. At the Bar Hughes was a fierce opponent and an extraordinary advocate.  He dominated any court room in which he appeared. He had a great command of his own cases and a withering ability to identify the weaknesses in the case of his opponents. A brilliant crossexaminer, a hard and disciplined worker, Hughes was careful, clever and courteous.  

Throughout his long and distinguished career, Hughes appeared in many prominent cases and on behalf of many high-profile clients.  Although renowned in the public eye for his defamation cases, his practice was much broader, including constitutional, commercial and common law cases. Hughes argued cases before the Privy Council and the High Court of Australia.  

In 1963 he was elected to the Commonwealth Parliament as the member for Parkes and later as the member for Berowra. During his time as a backbencher, he remained in practice at the Bar.  In 1969 he was appointed the 19th Attorney-General for the Commonwealth of Australia, under Prime Minister Gorton. Hughes acquitted himself as Attorney-General with the same brilliant legal acumen and prodigious work ethic as he exhibited as a barrister.  He remained Attorney-General of Australia until 1971. 

Hughes served on the Council of the Australian National University between 1972-1975, and as a member of the New South Wales Thoroughbred Racing Board Appeals Panel between 1998-2003.  In 1988, Hughes was made an Officer of the Order of Australia, for service to Australian society as a parliamentarian and to the legal profession. 

Hughes retired from legal practice after 64 years as a member of the New South Wales Bar in October 2013, one month shy of his 90th birthday. 

The Hon. Thomas E F Hughes AO KC was one of the finest barristers in Australian legal history. He was a doyen of the Bar, an exemplar of service to his country and to the legal profession.  

On behalf of the Australian Bar Association, I offer my sincere condolences to his family and to his friends and colleagues.

Requiescat in pace.

Róisín Annesley KCPresident of the Australian Bar Association

Funeral details are as follows:

17 December 2024 at 11:00amSt Mary Magdalene Church835 New South Head RoadRose Bay, Sydney

The service will be live streamed at this link.