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Edmund Barton
Published in
The Lone Hand 1909
Pictorial Collection

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Although the High Court had been established under the Constitution, the appointment of the first Bench could not take place until the passing of the Judiciary Act two years later. In 1903 the three High Court Judges, Edmund Barton, Richard O’Connor and Chief Justice Samuel Griffith were sworn in. In the early days of the High Court of Australia, the judges were in the curious position of interpreting the Constitution that all three had helped to write. This unique situation would persist until 1906 when the High Court bench was increased to five with the appointments of Henry Bournes Higgins and Sir Isaac Isaacs.
 
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