Phillip Evatt

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Phillip George Evatt, DSC (2 July 1922 – 20 March 2010) was an Australian naval officer and judge. He served as a judge of the Federal Court of Australia from February 1, 1977, to February 28, 1987.

Born in North Sydney, Evatt earned a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Sydney. He joined the Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve in 1940 and served as a lieutenant during World War II, including on the British submarine HMS Tapir. He helped sink the German submarine U-486 in 1945 and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his part in that action.

After the war, he became a barrister in New South Wales in 1951. Evatt later served on several courts: the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory (1976–1987), the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory (1974–1987), and the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island (1981–1987). He also chaired a Royal Commission into the use of chemical agents in the Vietnam War.

Evatt died in Bathurst, New South Wales, in 2010 at the age of 87.