Sir William Edward Stanley Forster (15 June 1921 – 31 January 1997) was the first Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court of the Northern Territory The Supreme Court of the Northern Territory is the superior court for the Australian Territory of the Northern Territory. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. It is ar ...

holding that position from 1979 to 1985. Before that he was the first (and only)

Chief Judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, ...

from 1977 to 1979 and

Senior Judge Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

from 1971 to 1977, all positions which were effectively the same. Sir William was born in

Sydney, New South Wales Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

on 15 June 1921 and, after moving to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

in 1929, attended

St Peter's College, Adelaide , other_name = The Collegiate School of St Peter , seal_image = St Peter's College, Adelaide Logo.svg , seal_size = 150 , image = SPSC chapel and memorial hall.jpg , image_size ...

Early legal life

Forster graduated with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of ...

from the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on ...

. He was in the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

from 1940 to 1946 and was a

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a ''magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

at the

Adelaide Police Court Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The demo ...

from 1959 to 1961. He was District Registrar of the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established following passage of the ''Judiciary Act 1903''. It ...

from 1966 to 1971 and before that was District Registrar from 1961 to 1966; and was Master of the

Supreme Court of South Australia The Supreme Court of South Australia is the superior court of the Australian state of South Australia. The Supreme Court is the highest South Australian court in the Australian court hierarchy. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in ...

from 1966 to 1971 and Deputy Master from 1961 to 1966. A member of the Standing Committee Senate at the

Adelaide University The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

from 1967 to 1971, Forster was lecturer of Law and Procedure at the same time and lecturer of Criminal Law from 1957 to 1958.

As Judge of the Northern Territory Supreme Court

He was appointed

of the

on 28 June 1971 and replaced

Justice Blackburn Sir Richard Arthur Blackburn, (26 July 1918 – 1 October 1987) was an Australian judge, prominent legal academic and military officer. He became a judge of three courts in Australia, and eventually became chief justice of the Australian Capit ...

who had taken up appointment with the

Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory is the highest court of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in civil matters and hears the most serious criminal matters. The court has ...

. After

Cyclone Tracy Cyclone Tracy was a tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, from 24 to 26 December 1974. The small, developing easterly storm had been observed passing clear of the city initially, but then turned t ...

had destroyed

Darwin Darwin may refer to: Common meanings * Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection * Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...

in 1974, Justice Forster ensured the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

was fully functional by March 1975. Chief Justice Forster was a Member of the

Aboriginal Theatre Foundation Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

from 1972 to 1975 and President of the Northern Territory Division of the

Australian Red Cross The Australian Red Cross, formally the Australian Red Cross Society, is a humanitarian aid and community services charity in Australia. Tracing its history back to 1923 and being incorporated by royal charter in 1941, the Australian Red Cros ...

from 1973 to 1985. He was also Chairman of the

Museum and Galleries Board of the Northern Territory A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

from 1974 to 1985. Chief Justice Forster was Chairman of the

Northern Territory Parole Board Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

from 1976 to 1985 and held a Dormant Commission as Acting Administrator of the Northern Territory from 1976 to 1985. He was also a Justice of the

Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indic ...

from 1977 to 1989. Chief Justice Forster was a champion of the local legal profession and upon his retirement expressed a wish that vacancies on the Bench be filled by local practitioners. Indeed, all appointments to the Supreme Court from 1991 (other than that of Chief Justice

Brian Ross Martin Brian Ross Martin (born 2 September 1947) is an Australian jurist. He was a judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia before being appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory in 2004. He served in the Northern ...

in 2004) have been from the local profession. In 1976, Chief Justice Forster was responsible for the introduction of the ' Anunga Rules' which, established guidelines for the interrogation of Aboriginal and non-English-speaking persons by Police to ensure that admissions were voluntarily obtained. He retired in 1985 due to ill-health and relocated to

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

Awards and honours

Justice Forster was awarded a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are t ...

in 1982 for services to law and is the only person to be

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...

ed for services to the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Au ...

. William Forster Chambers in Darwin now carries his name.

External links

NT Supreme Court profile of William ForsterNorthern Territory Chronicle 1977Photo of William Forster
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forster, William Judges of the Federal Court of Australia Chief Justices of the Northern Territory Judges of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory People from Darwin, Northern Territory People educated at St Peter's College, Adelaide 20th-century Australian judges 1921 births 1997 deaths Judges of the Supreme Court of Christmas Island Judges of the Supreme Court of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands