Wilfred Robert Dovey QC was an Australian barrister and judge.
16 Facts About Bill Dovey
1.
2.
Bill Dovey served on the Supreme Court of New South Wales from 1953 to 1964.
3.
Bill Dovey was described as colourful, slightly eccentric and irascible, although he had a brilliant legal mind and a Shakespearean vocabulary.
4.
Bill Dovey was born in Bathurst, New South Wales in 1894.
5.
Bill Dovey's mother Winifred Isabel Agnes Dovey, was born in China.
6.
Bill Dovey married Mary Dorothy Duncan four days before leaving for Rabaul with the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force in August 1914.
7.
Bill Dovey was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1922.
8.
Bill Dovey was involved in a number of royal commissions and inquiries, such as those on doctors' remuneration for national insurance, the detention of members of the Australia First Movement and Illegal Activities in the New South Wales Liquor Industry ; in the latter case he engaged his son-in-law Gough Whitlam as his junior.
9.
Bill Dovey represented many criminals in high-profile court cases of the day, including the gangland figure, John Frederick "Chow" Hayes and the notorious Sydney identity, Kate Leigh.
10.
In 1953, Bill Dovey was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales.
11.
Bill Dovey's cases included an early prosecution of Abe Saffron.
12.
Bill Dovey was known for his short temper and he did not shrink from sharp criticisms in his judgements.
13.
Bill Dovey was a racehorse owner and was frequently seen at racecourses wearing his trademark top hat and a monocle.
14.
Bill Dovey was criticised by NSW state politicians for continuing on the committee of the Australian Jockey Club after his elevation to the bench, and in 1960 he was criticised for allegedly attending to AJC business to the neglect of his judicial duties.
15.
Bill Dovey retired from the bench in 1964, and died on 12 December 1969 at the St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney.
16.
Bill Dovey's name is commemorated in Dovey Place in the Canberra suburb of Latham.