Sir Edward Stratten Williams (29 December 1921 – 10 January 1999) was a judge of 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 ...

Early life

Edward Stratten Williams was born on 29 December 1921 in

Yungaburra Yungaburra is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Yungaburra had a population of 1,239 people. Geography Yungaburra is on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland. The lan ...

Far North Queensland Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stretches north to the Torres Strait, and west to the Gulf C ...

, the son of businessman Edward Stratten Williams and his wife, Zilla Claudia (née McHugh). He was orphaned at age 8 and subsequently sent to boarding school at Mt. Carmel College,

Charters Towers Charters Towers is a rural town in the Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia. It is by road south-west from Townsville on the Flinders Highway. During the last quarter of the 19th century, the town boomed as the rich gold deposits under ...

. Williams was Dux of the College and when the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

broke out enrolled in the Light Horse. He later transferred to the

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

and went to England to assist the Allies push eastwards over continental Europe. He was a pilot of Lancaster bombers with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

as a

flight lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

in 186 Squadron,

Bomber Command Bomber Command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. The best known were in Britain and the United States. A Bomber Command is generally used for strategic bombing (although at times, e.g. during t ...

Legal career

In March 1944 Williams enrolled as an external student at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

in the Faculty of Law. He completed his final LLB examinations in June 1946. He graduated with Second Class Honours in Law in June 1946. He was admitted as a barrister on 19 November 1946 and was appointed a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

on 4 March 1965. Williams was appointed as a judge of the

on 13 May 1971 and served until he retired on 17 February 1984. Williams was appointed to head the 1977 to 1980 Royal Commission Inquiry into Drugs. Williams was the Chairman of the 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games Foundation for which he received the

Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Governmentowned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the State and Territo ...

award in 1982. Sir Edward was also appointed Commissioner General for

Expo '88 World Expo 88, also known as Expo 88, was a specialised Expo held in Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia, during a six-month period between Saturday, 30 April 1988 and Sunday, 30 October 1988, inclusive. The theme of the Expo wa ...

, and received the

Queenslander of the Year Queensland Day is officially celebrated on 6 June as the birthday of the Australian state of Queensland. History Moves towards statehood began with a public meeting in 1851 to consider separation of Queensland from the Colony of New South Wa ...

award in 1983. Williams had numerous other commitments, including being chairman of the

Queensland Turf Club The Queensland Turf Club (QTC) was founded in August 1863. It began on a piece of land in Ascot, Queensland, later called Eagle Farm Racecourse, given to the club by government grant. The first meeting of the club was held on 14 August 1865. So ...

for 11 years up to 1991. The Sir Edward Williams Handicap is run on

Queensland Oaks The Queensland Oaks is a Brisbane Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies, at set weights, run over a distance of 2400 metres at Eagle Farm Racecourse, Brisbane during the Queensland Winter Racing Carnival. Total p ...

day at

Eagle Farm racecourse Eagle Farm Racecourse is a heritage-listed horse racing venue in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is located at the northern end of Racecourse Road in the suburb of Ascot, from the Brisbane central business district. The turf track is wi ...

, for his service of over 30 years to the QTC. He was appointed

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(KBE) in the

1981 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1981 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...

and later Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (KCMG) in the 1983 New Year Honours.Australia list:

Later life

Williams died on 10 January 1999 and was buried in

Nudgee Cemetery Nudgee Cemetery & Crematorium is a large Roman Catholic cemetery at 493 St Vincents Road, Nudgee, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The cemetery opened in 1867 and is still operating. Over 31,000 people are buried there. Services The cemetery ...

.Burial records
–

. Retrieved 21 December 2014.

External links

Australian of the Year biography

References

1921 births 1999 deaths Australian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Australian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian of the Year Award winners Australian King's Counsel Judges of the Supreme Court of Queensland Alumni of University of London Worldwide Alumni of the University of London Burials at Nudgee Cemetery 20th-century Australian lawyers Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Australian Air Force officers Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Royal Air Force officers {{Australia-law-bio-stub

Early life

Legal career

Later life

See also

External links

References