Kamarooka Gold Mining Company and Kerr

The High Court of Australia considered an application for special leave to appeal by the Kamarooka Gold Mining Company, No Liability, and its directors (the applicants) against a decision of Judge Box in the Court of Mines, Victoria. The decision under appeal was one that rescinded a previous order for the winding up of the applicant company.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether it possessed jurisdiction under section 73 of the Constitution to entertain a direct appeal from an inferior court of a State, specifically the Court of Mines in this instance, when an appeal to the Supreme Court of that State was available. The applicants sought special leave to bypass the intermediate appeal to the Supreme Court, arguing that an appeal lay to the High Court from the Court of Mines at the establishment of the Commonwealth, and that "appeal" in this context included appeals by special leave.

Griffith C.J., delivering the judgment of the Court, noted that the question of whether the High Court could entertain a direct appeal from such a court was a difficult and important one, particularly concerning whether section 73 of the Constitution encompassed courts from which appeals to the Privy Council were only possible by special leave. However, the Court held that this question should not be raised in a case where an appeal to the Supreme Court was available, and from which a further appeal to the High Court could be pursued if necessary. Consequently, the Court refused to grant special leave to appeal.