William Forster first Northern Territory chief justice after his Adelaide law includes university lecturer
Later Northern Territory chief justice, William Forster was Adelaide University lecturer of law and procedure from 1967 to 1971 after being criminal law lecturer in 1957-58.
Image from a portrait by Danelle Bergstrom at Northern Territory supreme court in Darwin
William Forster, from South Australian legal system, was the first chief justice of the supreme court of Northern Territory, from 1979 to 1985. Before that, he was the first (and only) chief judge from 1977-79 and senior judge 1971-77.
Born in Sydney in 1921, Forster attended St Peter’s College after his family moved to Adelaide in 1929. Forster graduated with a bachelor of laws from Adelaide University before joining the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II.
Back in law, Forster was a magistrate at Adelaide police court 1959-61. He was district registrar of the high court of Ausstralia 1961-66, 1966-71. Forster became deputy master of the South Australian supreme from 1961 to 1966 and master from 1966 to 1971.
A member of the standing committee senate at Adelaide University 1967 to 1971, Forster also was lecturer of law and procedure at the same time after being criminal law lecturer 1957 to 1958.
As senior judge of the Northern Territory supreme court from 1971, Forster ensured the court was fully functioning by March 1975 after Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin in March 1974. In 1976, Forster introduced the Anunga Rules guidelines for interrogating Aboriginal and non-English-speaking persons by police, to ensure that admissions were voluntarily obtained.
As chief justice, Forster was a member of the Aboriginal Theatre Foundation 1972-75 and president of the Northern Territory Red Cross 1973-85. He was also chairman of the museum and galleries board of the Northern Territory 1974-85. Forster chaired the Northern Territory parole board 1976-85 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 1977-89.
Forster championed the local legal profession and, at retirement, expressed a wish that vacancies on the territory bench be filled by local practitioners. That happened from 1991, other than chief justice Brian Martin from South Australia taking the role in 2004.
