Arts for smart's sake

By Suzanne Parker

Recently retired Queensland Court of Appeal judge the Honourable Anthe Philippides (Bachelor of Arts ’80, Bachelor of Laws (Hons) ’82) believes the arts are absolutely vital for humanity – they bring us joy, they make us think, and they can help us understand the views of others in ways we may never otherwise consider. 

And she should know: her Honour has spent a lifetime advocating for the arts in her role as mentor, philanthropist and general aficionado.

“After all, music can be a tool for reconciliation; visual arts can provide solace and beauty; architecture literally affects how we live; theatre brings thoughts and feelings to life; while language and history provide a framework from which we can grow and communicate.

“From a career viewpoint, I quickly realised that law doesn’t exist in a vacuum and that the arts were a good vehicle for looking at how the law operated and whether it could be improved.

“Arts provide a different perspective.”

Perhaps Justice Philippides is biased though, having grown up in a proud Greek-Cypriot household that revered the arts and multiculturalism in all its forms. All members of her family were multilingual, all were widely travelled – her parents ran a successful travel agency – and all enjoyed the conversations that arose from watching or listening to artistic performances.

“As a child, I remember our house always being open, hosting fundraisers for various charities. Looking out for others was a big part of my upbringing and the arts, particularly music, played a major role in achieving this.”

It’s this example of service to others – but in a fun way – that set her Honour’s path in life and in law. A pivotal moment that steered her away from a dedicated career in the arts, however, was a visit to her school by young lawyer Walter Sofronoff, who later went on to become President of the Queensland Court of Appeal.

He suggested that law was worth considering in terms of being a part of shaping the rules governing society – whether as lawyer or advocate – and this really appealed to the young Somerville House student. 

So, off she went to UQ in the late 1970s to enrol in arts/law degrees that both intrigued and challenged her, haunting the “marvellous space” of the Queensland Art Gallery as much as she could along the way.

“My arts degree gave me an opportunity to satisfy my intellectual curiosity and learn about other people’s insights," she says.

"My interests were certainly eclectic: ancient Indian history, French studies in semiotics – even medieval Japanese history!

“As for my law degree, I found that the more I studied, the more interested I became in the law. I enjoyed understanding how everything fitted together, even if at first it seemed dissonant and contradictory."

And because it was so fascinating, and because she had such excellent female role models along the way – including Dame Quentin Bryce AD CVO, Margaret White AO and Patsy Wolfe AO, who all taught law at UQ (and Dr Pam Davenport and Jill Bridgwood at Somerville House) – she studied hard and achieved well, winning the University Medal in Law and several other law prizes. 

In 1982, she became the first female to win a British Council Commonwealth scholarship to complete a Master of Law at Cambridge, where she studied maritime law – a specialty unavailable in Queensland at the time – and which she then proceeded to teach and practise.

In 1984, she became the first woman of Hellenic heritage to be admitted to the Queensland Bar and, in 1999, to attain silk in Australia. In 2000, she became a judge in the Supreme Court of Queensland, a position she held until 2014, when she moved over to the Queensland Court of Appeal. They were also firsts for a woman of Hellenic heritage.

“I think of the law as an evolving system of rules and principles for dealing with society’s disputes and of governing society, and it has been a huge privilege for me to have played a role in it, including presiding over criminal trials, determining civil cases, mediating between people bringing deep grievances to the Court, and considering difficult issues at an appellate level.

“I’m also glad to have played a role in changing the perception of ‘what a judge looks like’.”

Opening doors

Her Honour’s demanding public career, though, was always balanced by private forays into the arts. Justice Philippides filled her home and office with books and artworks – particularly pieces by Indigenous artists – and attended concerts and shows whenever she could. She slowly realised, however, that the career opportunities and arts access she took for granted were not always as readily available to everyone else, and so she made it her mission to ‘open doors’ for others.

She strongly believes it is important that the legal profession promotes diversity.

“A respectful working environment, where people can be their authentic selves, is a large part of providing a credible system of justice, and diversity can only empower us all."

In 1999, she helped establish a mentoring scheme for the Bar Association of Queensland, designed to help those traditionally under-represented at the Bar – women and those with Indigenous or rural backgrounds – to link with barristers and gain practical experience in the profession. It was later adopted by Queensland University of Technology. She was also part of the Steering Committee that developed the Aboriginal English in the Courts: a Handbook for the Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney-General, released in 2000.

As a judge, she assisted in the Bar Association of Queensland’s Indigenous Law Students Mentoring Scheme. She also hosted visits to the Courts and gave talks to participants in UQ’s InspireU program for Indigenous high school students interested in a legal career, and for those in the national CareerTrackers program, an internship scheme for Indigenous university students, with which she was involved.

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