Laurence Street

The Honourable Sir Laurence Street AC KCMG QC
14th Chief Justice of New South Wales
In office 28 June 1974 – 1 November 1988
Appointed by	Elizabeth II
Preceded by	Sir John Kerr
Succeeded by	Murray Gleeson
Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales
In office 28 June 1974 – 1 November 1988
Preceded by	Sir Leslie Herron
Succeeded by	Murray Gleeson
Personal details
Born	3 July 1926 Sydney, New South Wales
Nationality	Australian

Sir Laurence Whistler Street AC, KCMG, QC (born 3 July 1926) is an Australian jurist and former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. He was the third generation of the Street family to have served New South Wales in this role.

Family

Street is the son of a New South Wales Supreme Court Chief Justice. His father Sir Kenneth Street was Chief Justice between 1950 and 1960 following in the footsteps of Sir Laurence's grandfather, Sir Philip Whistler Street.^[1] His mother Jessie Street was renowned for her work for Aboriginal and women's rights. She "masterminded the formation of the Aboriginal Rights Organisation, which led to the successful referendum held in 1967".^[2] His sister Philippa married the Australian Test cricketer and journalist Jack Fingleton.^[3]

Biography

Street attended the Cranbook School in Bellevue Hill. After a stint in the Royal Australian Navy, he studied law at the University of Sydney. Street became a barrister at the New South Wales Bar in 1951. As a barrister he practised extensively in equity, commercial law and maritime law.

In 1965 he was appointed judge of the New South Wales Supreme Court in the Equity Division.^[4] In 1974, at age 47, Street became the state's second-youngest Chief Justice (Sir Alfred Stephen was 42 when appointed Chief Justice in 1844).^[5] In 1976 he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG).^[6] He retired in 1988^[4] and was appointed Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 1989.^[7]

Since 1989 he has worked as a commercial mediator and an alternative dispute resolution consultant. This work has included 1,500 mediations, mainly involving major commercial disputes.^[4] In 2007 he branched out into criminal law, heading a review of a decision by the Queensland Director of Public Prosecution in the Chris Hurley case.^[8]

He is a member of several professional organisations, including an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Institute of Building.^[9] and an Honorary Member of the Society of Construction Law Australia. He is a patron of the Jessie Street National Women’s Library named in memory of his mother.

Street has said: "I've never felt constrained in my private life by the cast-iron requirements of society. I got divorced, I remarried, and had a second family of one. I have led a life that has not necessarily always conformed to the strict Victorian standards".^[10]

References

1. J. M. Bennett, 'Street, Sir Kenneth Whistler (1890–1972)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 16, Melbourne University Press, 2002, p. 332.
2. Papers of Jessie Street (1889–1970), National Library of Australia, 4 December 2006
3. Gowden, Greg (2008). Jack Fingleton : the man who stood up to Bradman. Crows Nest, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin. pp. 136–152. ISBN 978-1-74175-548-0.
4. The Honourable Sir Lawrence Street, Sir Lawrence Street, 2003 Archived 19 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine.
5. Sir Alfred Stephen, 3rd Chief Justice of NSW, 1844 to 1873
6. It's an Honour: KCMG
7. It's an Honour: AC
8. Aboriginal leaders applaud Mulrunji review appointment, ABC News Online, 4 January 2007 Archived 30 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
9. www.aib.org.au, AIB List of Honorary Members, 19 March 2006 Archived 6 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine.
10. Steve Dow, Journalist

External links

• Biography from official website