Kenneth Bailey

Sir Kenneth Hamilton Bailey (3 November 18983 May 1972) was a senior Australian public servant and lawyer, best known for his time as Secretary of the Attorney-General's Department between 1946 and 1964.

Life and career Kenneth Bailey was born on 3 November 1898 in Canterbury, Victoria. He was dux of his high school, Wesley College, in 1916. He was Victoria's Rhodes Scholar for 1918, a feat later emulated by his son. Both attended Corpus Christi College, Oxford.

In 1927, Bailey was appointed professor of jurisprudence at the University of Melbourne; the following year becoming the first Australia-born dean of the law school.

Between 1946 and 1964, Bailey was Solicitor-General of Australia and Secretary of the Attorney-General's Department.

Bailey died on 3 May 1972 in Canberra and was cremated. His son, Peter Hamilton Bailey, was also a public servant, as well as a human rights academic. He was knighted in 1958.

In 1972, the University of Melbourne awarded Bailey an honorary doctorate at a special conferring ceremony at Canberra Hospital.