Rudall & Rudall
| Type of organisation: | Business |
| Street number: | 25 |
| Street name: | Murray |
| Street suffix: | Street |
| Town or locality: | Gawler |
| Date established: | 1854 |
| Established by: | John Rudall |
| Business or purpose: | Lawyers |
Rudall & Rudall Lawyers - Contact Details
25 Murray Street, Gawler SA 5118
T: 08 8523 8400 F: 08 8523 0025
E: legal@rudalls.com.au
W: www.rudalls.com.au
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Rudall & Rudall History
Rudall & Rudall was founded by John Rudall who established a legal office in Gawler in 1854. John Rudall was the first Town Clerk of the Town of Gawler and served in that role until he was appointed as the resident Gawler Magistrate in 1881 to coincide with the opening of the Cowan Street Courthouse. John Rudall's son, Samuel Bruce Rudall, took over both the legal firm and the position of Town Clerk (1881-1914) and was a State MP for the local area from 1905-1915. Samuel's son Reginald John (RJ) Rudall became a Rhodes Scholar in 1908 later joining the legal firm and becoming State MP from 1933-1955 including seven years as Minister for Education and nine years as Attorney-General in Playford Governments.
In 1930 the Rudall family (in the name of Kathleen Clara Rudall, wife of Reginald John Rudall) purchased the property at 25 Murray Street, which had formerly been the Union Bank,[1] and located their offices to the impressive building, as of 2025 they are still operating from these premises.
The Rudall Family connection was tragically affected by the loss of both children of RJ and Kathleen Rudall, John and Peter, in action in the Second World War. Peter went down with the HMAS Sydney in unexplained circumstances, while John (or Jake) was killed leading his platoon in New Guinea.
The Rudall family connection to the legal practice ended in 1955 when RJ died and Lawrence Bills then took over the practice. Lawrence commenced at the firm in 1937 and continued to serve the community of Gawler until his death in 1974 when his son Tony Bills continued the Bills tradition.
In 2014, Rudall & Rudall celebrated their 160th year.
As of 2019 Peter Ryan and Nick Pullman are the Partners of the firm and are supported by seven associate lawyers and seven legal assistants making it the largest firm in the Gawler region. Rudall & Rudall continues its long tradition providing general law services to clients throughout South Australia and in particular Gawler, Adelaide Plains, Barossa Valley, Adelaide Hills, Yorke Peninsula, mid North, and suburban Adelaide. The primary fields of practice include Deceased Estates, Marriage Family and Defacto Law, Estate Planning (Wills, Powers of Attorney and Guardianship), Injury Law, Business Law, Property Transactions, Police and Traffic Law, Retirement and Aged Care, and Debt Collection.
In 2019 a c1850s Strong Box, believed to have been brought out to Australia by John Rudall inn 1853, was discovered in the basement of the Rudall and Rudall offices. Click here to read more about it or here to view photos of it.
Rudall & Rudall Community Involvement
The firm helped to set up the Hutchinson Hospital, which is now the Gawler Health Service. Throughout its history Rudall & Rudall has always had members in prominent positions on the board of the Hutch and then the Gawler Health Service, and also on the Gawler and Districts Aged Cottage Homes board since its inception. Rudall & Rudall sponsor and support numerous community organisations including Gawler Health Foundation, Gawler High School Foundation, Gawler Community Retirement Homes, Gawler History Team Inc, Rotary, Apex, Gawler Town Band, Trinity College, and Neighbourhood Watch.
Links
Click here to see photos and articles relating to Rudall and Rudall.
Click here to read about the 25 Murray Street site or here to view photos of it.
Click here to watch Peter Ryan, Rudall & Rudall Partner's "The History of Rudall & Rudall and the Legal Fraternity in Gawler", as presented to the Gawler History Team on 1 Aug 2019, or here to view the slides used during the presentation (which include some photographs of the
External Links
References
- ↑ Certificate of Title CT 92/44 https://www.flickr.com/photos/gawler_history/18439783521
Memories of Rudall & Rudall
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