The goings-on of the nation’s highest court rarely attract significant mainstream public attention. Yet the power of seven largely unknown judges to reshape the everyday lives of countless Australians through their decisions on the High Court is undeniable. 

Outside law schools, it’s even rarer to hear public discussion of historical cases. Yet, while they may seem relics of a far distant past, the judgments and opinions of long-departed High Court Justices continue to exert significant influence on Australian life. 

Monday marked the hundred-year anniversary of one of the most consequential legal rulings in Australian history. I am, of course, referring to the controversial Engineers decision handed down on 31 August 1920. 

Engineers marked a monumental change in Australian jurisprudence when it swept away the established doctrines of intergovernmental immunities and reserved state powers. This