Bill Gummow, quiet High Court judge who shaped modern law, dies at 83
by Janek Drevikovsky · Australian Financial ReviewJanek DrevikovskyLegal affairs reporter
Sep 18, 2026 – 2.12am
From the High Court bench, through his seminal legal texts, and in his lectures to generations of students, William Gummow – who died this week aged 83 – shaped modern Australian law like few others.
“Deeply learned” and “rigorously analytical”, Gummow was a “collegiate member” of the High Court, said its current justices in a tribute, “who contributed greatly … to the content and trajectory of Australian law”.
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Janek DrevikovskyLegal affairs reporterJanek Drevikovsky is the Financial Review’s legal affairs reporter. Email Janek at jdrevikovsky@nine.com.au
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