The Admiring Junior

When Pat first came to the Bar, Cedric was tied up as Counsel assisting in the Williams Royal Commission and it was some time before Pat had a brief with Cedric.

His opportunity came when he appeared in the High Court in Canberra as Cedric’s junior in the Walsh tax appeal.

Pat recalled that Cedric started thumping his chest in the region of his heart more and more regularly, causing Pat to think, “He’s going to have a heart attack and I’ll have to do the address!”

Pat returned from his Canberra sojourn full of admiration for Cedric.

One morning, he held court to an admiring throng just outside his secretary’s desk in the Cloudland Ballroom that was our reception area at MLC and announced, “You know, Cedric is the cleverest man OR woman in Brisbane!” Every word was said with great passion and emphasis (as only Pat could) but the “OR” received extra treatment as it was delivered with a pause. You see, this was the early ’80’s and Pat emphasised his political correctness.

He also once said, “You know, going to Court with Cedric is like going to Court with your father, because you know he will make it all right!”

Ian Diehm