From Australia’s Jewish Past
Isaac Henry Cohen KC – one of Melbourne’s leading barristers and well-known politician
Isaac Henry Cohen
Isaac, known as Henry, was born on 21 February 1872 in Flinders Street, Melbourne. He was the eighth child of David, outfitter and later financier, and his wife Rachel, both having emigrated from London. Henry attended St James’ Grammar School, the Melbourne Hebrew School and, from 1885, Scotch College, where he was dux. He then attended the University of Melbourne, first achieving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1894, followed by a law degree in 1895, graduating with honours. He was admitted to the Bar in April 1896. On 27 June 1901, at the Office of the Government Statist Melbourne, he married Ethel Keon, a Catholic from Launceston, Tasmania. The couple went on to have three sons and two daughters, who adopted the name Keon-Cohen and were brought up as Anglicans and attended Presbyterian schools. Henry did, however, throughout his life retain Jewish associations.
Henry’s career progressed slowly in the depressed 1890s, his one brief in his first two years netted him two guineas. He taught backward boys at night, mastered shorthand and became a court reporter. However, after a widely reported case in 1906, he began to prosper, building up a large practice in all jurisdictions except criminal. He became a King’s Counsel in December 1920, a year before becoming a member of the Legislative Council, which he joined following a by-election in May 1921. He succeeded Sir Henry Weedon, businessman and lord mayor, as a Nationalist member for Melbourne Province. He held the seat until 1937 when redistribution made it a Labor stronghold. As the elected unofficial leader of the Legislative Council from 1922 to 1923, 1924 to 1928 and 1935 to 1937, he examined and spoke on every bill before the chamber in what was ostensibly a house of review. He also held several ministries, mostly for very brief periods, including as an honorary minister from September 1923 to March 1924, where he was responsible for several briefs, commissioner of public works, minister of mines and vice-president of the Board of Land and Works from March to April 1924 under the Premier of Victoria Harry Lawson. He held the same portfolios under (Sir) Alexander Peacock, Victoria’s next Premier. Henry took on the positions of attorney-general and solicitor-general for only one week in July 1924. From November 1928 to December 1929, Henry was the leader of the Legislative Council and minister of public instruction under the next Premier, Sir William McPherson. He was also minister of water supply and in charge of electrical undertakings for a fortnight from March to April 1935, and in 1937, he contested Higinbotham Province but was unsuccessful.
Regarded as ‘zealous and uncompromising’ in considering the principles underlying proposed legislation, Henry chaired the Parliamentary Select Committee on Race Courses and Race Meetings in 1928. In 1935 he became the first Chairman of the Parliamentary Public Works Committee. His other role was Chairman of the Parliamentary Sports and Social Club from 1931 to 1937.
Henry was a trustee of the Melbourne Exhibition from February 1922 and remained so for twenty years. He was active in welfare movements during the Depression, having joined the Slum Abolition Council and the Big Brother Movement and took on the presidency of the Children’s Welfare Association. He was widely read in the classics and mathematics, enjoyed music, and followed sports avidly, particularly bowls, horse racing and golf. He was a foundation member of the Old Scotch Collegians’ Club and was president of the Association from 1921 to 1922. In the 1920s he also held several company directorships.
Unfortunately, parliamentary service crippled his income at the Bar and prospects of judicial appointment, and he received no official recognition, although he did remain at the Bar for forty-six years.
He passed away, after a short illness, aged seventy, at Armadale on 20 December 1942. Three of his five children were members of the Australian Defence Forces.
The AJHS acknowledges the following references in the preparation of this story:
Australian Dictionary of Biography – Barry O Jones; Wikipedia, National Library of Australia -Trove, Parliament of Victoria
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