Sir Alan James Mansfield, (30 September 1902 – 17 July 1980) was an Australian barrister, judge, and the 18th

Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative in the state of Queensland of the monarch of Australia. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governor Governors of the Australian states, performs c ...

, serving from 1966 until 1972.

Early life

Mansfield was born on 20 September 1902 in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Queensland, where his family had land in

Gumdale Gumdale is an outer Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Gumdale had a population of 2,118 people. Geography Gumdale is by road ESE of the Brisbane CBD. The average property size ...

. He lived in the

Mount Gravatt Mount Gravatt is a southern suburb of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and a prominent hill and lookout within this suburb (). In the , Mount Gravatt had a population of 3,366 people. Geography The suburb is situated in the south- ...

area for many years. Sir James Mansfield was his great-great-grandfather. He was educated at the Anglican Church Grammar School in Brisbane, before winning a scholarship to the

Sydney Church of England Grammar School , motto_translation = , established = , type = Independent single-sex and co-educational early learning, primary and secondary day and boarding school , grades = Early learning ...

(Shore). He attended university at St Paul's College,

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

Judicial career

Mansfield was appointed as a Puisne Judge on the

Supreme Court of Queensland The Supreme Court of Queensland is the highest court in the Australian State of Queensland. It was formerly the Brisbane Supreme Court, in the colony of Queensland. The original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court allows its trial division to he ...

on 17 May 1940. He served with distinction in that capacity until he was made a Senior Puisne Judge on 20 March 1947. As a Senior Puisne Judge, he served until 8 February 1956 when he was promoted to the position of

Chief Justice of Queensland The chief justice of Queensland is the senior judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland and the highest ranking judicial officer in the Australian state of Queensland. The chief justice is both the judicial head of the Supreme Court, as well as t ...

. He served as Chief Justice from 9 February 1956 until his retirement on 21 February 1966.

Vice-regal career

During his time as Chief Judge, Mansfield was Lieutenant-Governor of Queensland on several occasions. He was appointed

in 1966. He served in this position until 1972. Mansfield was a freemason. During his term as governor, he was also Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Queensland.

Other professional achievements

When Mansfield first became a lawyer, he went to represent Australia on the

International Military Tribunal for the Far East The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), also known as the Tokyo Trial or the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, was a military trial convened on April 29, 1946 to try leaders of the Empire of Japan for crimes against peace, conven ...

for the

United Nations War Crimes Commission The United Nations War Crimes Commission (UNWCC) initially called the United Nations Commission for the Investigation of War Crimes, was a commission of the United Nations that investigated allegations of war crimes committed by Nazi Germany and ...

. In 1966, in addition to his other duties, Mansfield was also appointed Chancellor of the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

Honours

*In 1958 he was made a

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(KCMG). *The suburb of

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...

in the city of

is named after him.

References