Published by Australian Scholarly Publishing Pty Ltd: North Melbourne 2021 1st Edition
"Peter Yule's A History of the Victorian Bar is a substantial and extensively researched account of the development of Victoria's barristers and their place within the state's legal, political and social history. Beginning with the foundation of the colonial Bar in the late 1830s and the first sitting of Melbourne's Supreme Court in 1841, Yule follows the profession through the gold-rush years, Federation, two World Wars, the Depression and post-war expansion, before examining the transformation of the modern Bar through to 2020. Along the way it explores the lawyers, cases and institutions that helped shape both Victoria and the wider Australian judicial system.
The book places the Bar firmly within the major events of Victorian history, including the Eureka Stockade trials, nineteenth-century politics and land booms, Federation and the changing nature of legal practice during the twentieth century. Considerable attention is devoted to the personalities of the profession, the first female barristers, changing chambers and working practices, professional organisation and the gradual broadening of membership. Later chapters examine the modernisation of the Bar, changing standards of practice and major legal and constitutional matters in which Victorian barristers played significant roles. The work is profusely illustrated with historic photographs, portraits, artworks, documents and impressive full-page and double-page images.
Published in North Melbourne by Australian Scholarly Publishing Pty Ltd in 2021, this is the First Edition, produced for Barristers' Chambers Limited. A particularly substantial large-format volume measuring approximately 30 x 25cm, it extends to well over 350 pages and includes extensive notes, bibliography, the Victorian Bar Roll, index and a dedicated section on the Peter O'Callaghan QC Gallery portrait collection. Handsomely produced and richly illustrated throughout, this is an important modern reference work on Victorian legal history and an impressive volume for collectors of Melbourne history, Australian law, biography and institutional history."
Light wear with a few marks to covers and spine as shown. Pages clean and well presented. No inscriptions. A nice copy in very good condition overall. Please study photos to further understand condition.
