Brian Bourke interview 10 October 2005

My father had hotels and we moved from place to place. I think I attended 11 schools all together and I was always somewhat keen on wanting to do law, I don't know why. I was eligible to commence in 1947 apart from the fact that I didn't have any Latin and that was a then a prerequisite to enter the law school, but that was removed during the year 1947 and I started in 1948. I actually left school in the middle of 1946 and came down to Melbourne to work and then due to the influence of a nun who had profound influence on my life, she's now dead but I did what was then called matriculation at Taylors (College) and eventually started law.

You said this nun had a profound influence in your life, can you tell us a little bit about her?

Yes, a woman named Mother Columbanis. I left school at the end of year 11 when I got a job in the public service in Melbourne, but I was told when I'd be starting was a matter of the luck of the gods and I just didn't do anything. When I did get the job down here in the middle of the year 1946, Mother Columbanis told me that I could do matric. I didn't think I could but anyway she said she'd fix that up and she used to send me down the work of a girl who I'd been at school with, who was a bright girl and I got all her work and then went along to Taylor's. It's a huge institution now, it was then much smaller. I'll never forget George Taylor, he was a little dapper right-wing fellow. I remember him saying at a lecture one night "Never let the low mentalities rule the world". I suppose that he was referring to what he perceived to be the communist threat. But I did matric there, I worked in the State Savings Bank in 1947 in Wangaratta and then came down and commenced 5 year articles in February 1948. I was admitted in '53, then I continued on as an employee solicitor until I went overseas, mid to late 1958 and came back and signed the Bar Roll in 1960.

Conducted for the Bar Oral History project by Juliette Brodsky in Owen Dixon Chambers East and filmed by Stewart Carter (People Pictures)