Bar Roll No: 830
It is with deep regret that the Victorian Bar informs members of the death of the Honourable Alexander Robert Monteith KC on 30 August 2023.
Born 20 February 1944 and educated at Caulfield Grammar School and then the University of Melbourne, ‘Robert’, also known affectionately as ‘Monty’, signed the bar roll in February 1968, reading with the Honourable Robert Brooking AO KC.
He went on to develop a successful practice at the Common Law Bar in Melbourne where he was a much-loved member of chambers on the 10th Floor of Owen Dixon Chambers East.
Robert took four readers: Frank Zydower, Ian Barnes, Jonathan Brett KC and John Saunders, and was appointed silk in 1999.
In 1999, seeking the benefits that a warmer climate might have for a persistent back injury, he moved with his wife Kaye to Townsville and joined the Queensland Bar.
He served as a Justice of the Family Court of Australia in the Townsville registry from 2000 until 2011. He is remembered as an affable and respected judge who involved himself professionally and socially with the local members of the profession and the Bar in particular.
Apart from the law, he and Kaye were involved for many years in the Townsville Chamber Music Festival and he enjoyed sailing.
A funeral will be held to honour Robert’s life at St Paul’s Cathedral, Corner Flinders St & Swanston St Melbourne, Tuesday, 12 September 2023 at 2:00pm.
The service will also be livestreamed via YouTube here for those who are unable to attend in person.