Hodges was admitted as a barrister in 1875.[1] For several years practiced extensively, and was very successful.[2] In 1889 a position on the judiciary became available he was appointed as a puisne judge to the Supreme Court Bench.[2][1]
With the exception of Sir Thomas à Beckett, he was longer on the bench than any other judge.[1]
He died at "Dreamthorpe", a magnificent summer residence on the slopes of Mount Macedon that he established.[3]
His remains were interred at the Boroondara cemetery.
For some time there had been only four judges on the Victorian Supreme Court: (Sir William Irvine (chief judge), Hodges, Hood, and Cussen), when the law provided for six, and in 1919 two additional judges were appointed, W. J. Schutt and F. W. Mann.[4] They took their seats shortly after Hodges' death.
Other interests
Hodges was an active Anglican churchgoer and for many years chancellor of the Diocese of Melbourne.[1]
While on holiday in London in 1901 he represented Australia at a conference called to establish an Imperial Court of Final Appeal.[1]
Family
Hodges married Margaret Knox ( – ) in 1878. She was a daughter of Melbourne solicitor George Knox and sister of William Knox MHR. Their children included:
George Agincourt Hodges, a surgeon.
younger son Capt. E. Norman Hodges MC, a barrister, died July 1918 of pneumonia while on active service during the Great War.
Margaret Hodges (died 1932) married Air Commodore John David Boyle, son of the Earl of Glasgow, on 9 December 1913[5]
Mary Eirene Hodges (1879–1951) married Lieut. (Howard) Clifton Brown on 14 July 1903.[6]
On 4 December 1909 he married again,[7] to Alice Belinda Chirnside (died 23 November 1942),[8] widow of Robert Chirnside of Carranballac Station, near Skipton.
Dr. Girlie C. Hodges
Hodges' granddaughter was Dr. George "Girlie" Chapple Hodges (1904-1999), whose mother was Bessie Hodges née Chapple,[9] and whose father was Hodges' son George Agincourt Hodges.[10] Girlie Hodges qualified with a Master of Surgery in Victoria in 1939, making her the first woman in Victoria to receive the degree.[11] She also played Hockey for Australia at international competitions.[12]
^ abcde"Death of Mr Justice Hodges". The Age. No. 20, 083. Victoria, Australia. 9 August 1919. p. 14. Retrieved 27 December 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Dream Home". Gilgandra Weekly. New South Wales, Australia. 2 February 1950. p. 6. Retrieved 27 December 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Supreme Court Bench". The Australasian. Vol. CVII, no. 2, 782. Victoria, Australia. 26 July 1919. p. 32. Retrieved 27 December 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Personal". Geelong Advertiser. No. 20, 792. Victoria, Australia. 11 December 1913. p. 3. Retrieved 28 December 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Weddings". The Leader (Melbourne). No. 2813. Victoria, Australia. 4 December 1909. p. 46. Retrieved 28 December 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Obituary". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 30, 031. Victoria, Australia. 24 November 1942. p. 3. Retrieved 27 December 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Deaths: Hodges". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria: National Library of Australia. 3 May 1952. p. 23. Retrieved 18 March 2024.