Notes
Born 8/2/1919 Melbourne, Victoria. Born in Melbourne and the youngest child of Chana Reizel and Shlomo-Zalman Komesaroff, who arrived in Australia from Berdyansk in the Ukraine in 1913, Bill was always conscious of his family’s origins and his parents’ early struggle in Australia. He was a proud Australian, with a deep appreciation of our tolerant, democratic society. Bill was educated at Kew Primary School, Scotch College, and Melbourne University. In 1941, he interrupted his studies to enlist in the Royal Australian Navy. He was assigned to the sloop HMAS Warrego, which was engaged in mine sweeping and escorting convoys around New Guinea and along the east coast of Australia. Later he joined the corvette HMAS Cowra, serving as an anti-submarine officer in the same areas. Bill married Henrietta Ellinson while on leave in May 1943. He died just one week before their 69th wedding anniversary. Their marriage was marked by an abiding devotion to each other and to their family. Somehow, Bill managed to complete his law studies on board ship and sat the final law exams just before his demobilisation in early 1946. After completing articles, he was admitted to practice as a barrister later that year. Thus began a career in the law of almost 45 years. As a barrister, he specialised in personal injury cases and in criminal and commercial law. In 1962, he was appointed Queen’s Counsel and led a number of significant cases, including the inquiry into allegations of police corruption and the 1971 royal commission into the West Gate Bridge disaster. He served his profession as chairman of the Victorian Bar Council’s Ethics Committee and subsequently as vice chairman and chairman of the Council. He was also president of the Australian Bar Association, an executive member of the Law Council of Australia, a member of the founding committee of the Faculty of Law at Monash University, and a member of its Faculty Board. In addition, he chaired the Proctorial Board of La Trobe University for 2 years. In 1972, Bill was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria, becoming the 51st Supreme Court Judge in Victoria and the first Jewish judge appointed to that Court in its then 121 year history. Throughout his term of office, Bill was deeply committed to upholding the role of the Supreme Court in our system of justice. Bill was proud of his Jewish faith and its history and tradition. He was a deeply humane man who practised his values in everyday life. He chaired Temple Beth Israel’s Fund for the Future, and was a long standing member of the Victorian Association of Jewish Ex & Servicemen and Women Australia. He was a member of the International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists, and founder and first president of the Victorian Branch of that association.
John Monash (Monasch) born
in Melbourne, Australia on 27 June 1865, the son of
German Polish Jewish migrants, can be researched in any
military history encyclopaedia or in fact by just
‘Googling’ his name on the internet. His history
and list of achievements are long and far too many to detail
in this brief summary. However, might I say that reading his
history is well worth the effort and I can assure you that
his deeds will amaze you. I have found that the deeds are
better labelled on more than one man and in more than one
lifetime.
An
announcement was made in the weeks leading up to the
Centenary of ANZAC by Judy Landau, President VAJEX Aust.
She stated that it gave her great delight to announce
that VAJEX Aust (Victorian Association of Jewish Ex
& Servicemen & Women Australia Inc) has
successfully raised the required funds to build a new
Victorian Jewish Memorial after the style of the
historic Memorial located in the Jewish section of the
Melbourne General Cemetery. After an extensive two year
process, Judy has single-handedly sought letters of
support, raised the funds, and obtained approval from
the City of Port Phillip.