James Henry Muirhead AC

KStJ The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of c ...

QC (24 April 1925 – 20 July 1999) was an

Administrator of the Northern Territory The Administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the Governor-General of Australia to represent the government of the Commonwealth in the Northern Territory, Australia. They perform functions similar to those of a state gov ...

and a

Judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

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 aro ...

Pre-Northern Territory

Muirhead was born in

Adelaide 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 dem ...

and was educated at St Peter's College and 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 N ...

. After completing high school he enlisted in the

Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the name given to the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial ...

s for service in the

Second World War 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 ...

. From 1943 - 1946 he served as an infantryman and signaller with the 57/60 Battalion in Bougainville and later with the 37/52 Battalion in

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about 600 kilometres to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in ...

New Britain New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the Dam ...

. He obtained 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 Chi ...

from the

and was admitted to the South Australian Bar in 1950. He practised as a barrister and solicitor in the firm of Thomson & Co until 1970 when he was appointed as a Judge of the Local and District Criminal Court of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. He was appointed as 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 ...

in 1967. Current Judge Dean Mildren was his Articled Clerk from 1966 - 1968. He was appointed as an Acting Judge of the Supreme Court of

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

in 1972. He was appointed in 1973 as the inaugural Director of the

Australian Institute of Criminology The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) is Australia's national research and knowledge centre on crime and criminal justice. The Institute seeks to promote justice and reduce crime by undertaking and communicating evidence-based research ...

, a position he held until 1975.

Northern Territory and beyond

He was appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory on 1 May 1974 and became the second resident Judge (with William Forster). Later that year

Dick Ward Richard Ole Ward (May 21, 1909 – May 30, 1966) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played in 1934 and 1935 with the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals. He batted and threw right-handed. In 2 seasons, he appeared in 4 games, pitching 6 ...

would be appointed as the third resident Judge. When 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 ...

was established in 1976 he was appointed as a Judge of that Court and held both that commission and the Supreme Court commission concurrently. After Sir William Forster retired on 7 February 1985 he was appointed as acting Chief Justice until his retirement on 11 September 1985 when

Kevin O'Leary Terence Thomas Kevin O'Leary (born 9 July 1954), also known as Mr. Wonderful, is a Canadian businessman, entrepreneur, and television personality. From 2004 to 2014, he appeared on various Canadian television shows. These include the business n ...

succeeded him. He relocated to

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

and resigned his commission as Federal Court Judge in 1986 to take up the position of Royal Commissioner for the

Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) (1987–1991), also known as the Muirhead Commission, was a Royal Commission appointed by the Australian Government in October 1987 to Federal Court judge James Henry Muirhead, ...

, which ran from 1987 to 1991, with hearings finishing in 1989. On 1 July 1989 he was appointed as Administrator of the Northern Territory, a position he held until 4 December 1992. As Administrator he opened the new Supreme Court Building in 1991. At that time he was patron of 74 organisations. He was Deputy Prior of the Order of St John, Chief Scout in the Northern Territory and chairman of the Forum for Indigenous Studies at the North Australia Research Unit. He was also the second honorary colonel of Norforce.

The Chamberlain Trial

Muirhead presided over Australia's most famous criminal murder trial, that of R v Chamberlain & Chamberlain, when Lindy and

Michael Chamberlain Michael Leigh Chamberlain (27 February 1944 – 9 January 2017) was a New Zealand-Australian writer, teacher and pastor falsely implicated in the August 1980 death of his missing daughter Azaria, which was later demonstrated to be the result ...

were charged with the murder of their daughter

Azaria Azaria ( he, עֲזַרְיָה), or Azarya is a moshav in central Israel. Located in the Shephelah around five kilometres south-east of Ramle, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gezer Regional Council. In it had a population of . Etymology ...

. He sentenced Lindy to life imprisonment on 29 October 1982. In the 1988 film '' Evil Angels'', which was based on the events surrounding the trial, Muirhead was portrayed by the actor

Charles 'Bud' Tingwell Charles William Tingwell AM (3 January 1923 – 15 May 2009), known professionally as Bud Tingwell or Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, was an Australian film, television, theatre and radio actor. One of the veterans of Australian film, he acted in his ...

Honours

In 1989 he was appointed a Knight of Grace of the Order of St John, and on

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Ja ...

1991 was awarded Australia's highest civil honour when he was invested as a

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

for public service and service to the law.It's an Honour
- Companion of the Order of Australia After he retired he was appointed as a Ministerial Adviser to the Council on Veterans Issues, a position he held from 1993 - 1994. Muirhead died on 20 July 1999 while visiting family in Darwin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muirhead, James People from Darwin, Northern Territory Judges of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory Companions of the Order of Australia Knights of Grace of the Order of St John Administrators of the Northern Territory Judges of the Federal Court of Australia People educated at St Peter's College, Adelaide Australian King's Counsel 1925 births 1999 deaths University of Adelaide alumni 20th-century Australian lawyers Judges of the Supreme Court of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands 20th-century Australian judges Military personnel from South Australia Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army soldiers