On Tuesday 23 August the TC Beirne School of Law Heritage Committee was proud to host a ceremony and reception to commission the Lumb Lectern donated by the family of the late Professor Darrell Lumb, former professor of law at the School and outstanding legal scholar.
The reception, held in the Sir Samuel Griffith room, commenced with introductory remarks from Dr Michael White QC, Adjunct Professor of Law and Chair of the TC Beirne School of Law Heritage Committee. Dr White extended a warm welcome to guests and in particular to Mrs Moira Lumb and children Stephen and Joanne (son Brendan was regrettably absent).
The Hon. Justice Margaret White continued with a speech that outlined Lumb’s significant contributions to the intellectual life of the School and added some personal recollections, having been a colleague of Professor Lumb’s in the 1970’s. The ceremony was concluded with a response from Mr Stephen Lumb, Barrister at Law, on behalf of the family and with a note of thanks from Head of School, Professor Charles Rickett.
Richard Darrell Lumb was born in Melbourne in 1934 and graduated from the University of Melbourne with Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and Master of Laws (Hons) degrees. He continued his studies at the University of Oxford on a Newman College travelling scholarship and obtained his Doctor of Philosophy with a thesis on natural and positive law. He returned to Melbourne briefly as a tutor before taking up a lectureship in law at the University of Queensland’s TC Beirne School of Law in 1958. He took a short break from academia in 1961 to become Associate to Sir Edward McTiernan at the High Court of Australia, and was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in the High Court in 1964. Professor Lumb’s main area of interest was in constitutional law, but he also published extensively on international law, law of the sea and legal theory. In 1963 he was appointed Senior Lecturer, became Reader in Law in 1967 and was appointed to a personal chair in 1980. Professor Lumb advised various Australian government departments and parliamentary committees on constitutional and international legal issues. He died on 3 February 1997, aged 62 years, after suffering from a serious illness.
The Lumb Lectern is now permanently housed in the Sir Samuel Griffith room (Forgan Smith building, St Lucia campus) which is the main common room for the Law School.
To mark its commissioning, the TC Beirne School of Law Heritage Committee in conjunction with staff at the Walter Harrison Law Library and The University of Queensland Archives have produced a Lumb Lectern Commissioning Booklet, which includes a précis of his career and his impressive list of publications.
Also available for download are the Commissioning Introduction by Dr Michael White and the Commissioning Speech by Justice Margaret White.
Further information about the projects and activities currently being undertaken by the TC Beirne School of Law Heritage Committee is available on the Heritage and History page or alternatively by contacting Dr Michael White QC, ph: (07) 3365 2120 or email: m.white@law.uq.edu.au.
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| Justice Margaret White delivering her speech |
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The Lumb Family with the Lectern (from left: Baby Mehret Lumb, Moira, Joanne and Stephen) |
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Professor Rickett and former Heads of School the Hon. Prof. K. Ryan CBE and Dr R.O'Regan AM, QC |
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| Dr Michael White QC introducing the Lumb Lectern Commissioning Ceremony |
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Professor Charles Rickett concludes the speeches with his thanks |
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Professor C. Rickett, the Hon Prof. K. Ryan CBE, Dr R.O'Regan AM, QC and Professor I. Zimmer |