Sir Albert Asher Wolff (30 April 1899 – 27 October 1977) was a Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court of Western Australia The Supreme Court of Western Australia is the highest state court in the Australian State of Western Australia. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters (although it usually only hears matters involving sums of or more ...

, which is the highest ranking court in the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

State State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. Wolf also served as Lieutenant Governor of Western Australia.

Early life

Born on 30 April 1899 at

Geraldton, Western Australia Geraldton ( Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. As of the , Geraldton had an urban population of 38,595. Geraldton is the seat of ...

, and registered as Asher Albert, he was the only son and second of four children to a Russian-born jeweller, and his English wife. From an orthodox Jewish family, Wolff was educated at Geraldton State and Perth Boys' schools and won a scholarship to

Perth Modern School Perth Modern School (colloquially known as Perth Mod) is a public co-educational academically selective high school, located in Subiaco, an inner city suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Perth Modern is Western Australia's only fully academica ...

. In 1924 he married schoolteacher Ida Violet Jackson, at the district registrar's office in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Judiciary career

After serving articles in a legal firm, he was admitted to the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

on 20 October 1921, and practised at Goomalling and in

until appointed crown prosecutor in 1926. Wolff prosecuted constables J. G. St Jack and R. H. Regan for murder following the 1926 Forrest River massacre; they were acquitted. In 1929 he was promoted crown solicitor and parliamentary draftsman and won repute for his drafting skills. He was appointed to the Supreme Court bench in 1938. In 1949 Wolff presided over an Air Court of Inquiry into the crash of a Douglas DC-3 aircraft at

Perth Airport Perth Airport is an international airport, international, domestic airport, domestic and general aviation airport serving Perth, Western Australia. It is the List of the busiest airports in Australia, fourth busiest airport in Australia meas ...

which killed all 18 people on board."Air Tragedy Inquiry"
''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

'' – 29 September 1949, p.16 (National Library of Australia) Retrieved 2012-05-01 The aircraft was operated by Western Australian airline MacRobertson Miller Aviation. The Court was unable to determine the precise cause of the accident. Wolff became senior puisne justice in 1954. In February 1959 he succeeded Sir John Dwyer as chief justice and became deputy president of the State Arbitration Court; he was knighted via in June. Wolff was also committed to capital punishment. One of his most contentious criminal cases was the 1961 murder trial of the deaf mute Darryl Raymond Beamish. Wolff pronounced the death sentence, which was later commuted to life imprisonment. After the emergence of fresh evidence, in 2005 the conviction was quashed.Australian Dictionary of Biography
/ref> Wolff presided over a royal commission into youth unemployment and the apprenticeship system. He recommended improving literacy at the primary level, raising the school leaving age to 15, and reviewing policy and funding for technical education. By singling out the building industry for inadequate training regulations he hastened the passage of the ''Builders' Registration Act (1939)''. Wolff retired from the position of chief justice on 30 April 1969. He served as Lieutenant Governor of Western Australia from 1968 until 1974.

Later life and death

Sir Albert Wolff died on 27 October 1977 at the Home of Peace, Subiaco, and was buried in the Jewish Orthodox section of

Karrakatta Cemetery Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, the first being that of wheelwright Robert Creighton. Managed by the Metropolitan Ce ...

after a State funeral.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolff, Albert Asher 1899 births 1977 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Chief justices of Western Australia Judges of the Supreme Court of Western Australia People educated at Perth Modern School People from Geraldton Australian Jews Australian people of Russian-Jewish descent Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery

Early life

Judiciary career

Later life and death

See also

References