Ann Bernard papers, [ca. 1925-1973]

MLMSS 10345

fonds

[ca. 1925-1973]

Graphic Materials, Photographs, Textual Records, Ephemera

1009303

0.23 cm of textual and graphic material (1 folder)

Ann Bernard (1898-1973) was the third woman to actively practise at the NSW Bar. She was born Ann Isobel “Daisy” Davis in rural NSW in 1898 to a large family.
She married and went to live in Fiji during the 1920s -1930s, where she worked for then Fiji Governor, Sir Henry Scott, and knew Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith.
In 1938, Ann Bernard went to Oxford to study law, and was admitted to the Middle Temple. She was admitted to the Sydney Bar in 1941 and practised there during the 1940s, running a number of notable cases, including as junior to Sir Garfield Barwick in 1947 in the Archibald Prize “caricature” case. During the 1950s, Ann Bernard returned to Fiji for a time. She then moved to Concord, Sydney, with her adopted daughter Angela, and retired from practice during the 1960s. Ann Bernard was killed by a car in 1973. Her portrait by Mary Edwards hangs in the Bar Common Room.
Reference: Correspondence file

The NSW Bar Association was given the papers of Ann Bernard after her death.

Ann Bernard papers, ca. 1925-1973, including family correspondence, photographs, and official documents, marriage and death certificates, and admission to the prestigious Middle Temple in London, one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers.

Copyright status:: In copyright – life of author(s) plus 70 years