Our university’s namesake Sir Samuel Walker Griffith was born in 1845 and died on the 9 August 1920. One hundred years on from his death – we reflect on his achievements and why our university was named after this remarkable man.
Born in Wales, he migrated to Australia with his family in 1853. After being schooled in both Queensland and New South Wales, he studied law at the University of Sydney. After a highly successful stint as a lawyer Sir Samuel would go on to be Premier of Queensland (twice) and serve as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland from 1890-1893. In 1903, Sir Samuel was appointed the first Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia.
He was considered a liberal thinker and reformist. Perhaps his greatest achievement in public life was being the chief author of the Australian Constitution, which led to the federated Australia that we know today. For more on our university’s namesake visit the Sir Samuel Walker Griffith page on the Griffith Archive website.
