Chief Justice of New South Wales

The Chief Justice of New South Wales is the senior judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the highest-ranking judicial officer in the Australian state of New South Wales. The Chief Justice is both the judicial head of the Supreme Court as well as the administrative head, responsible for arranging the business of the court and establishing its rules and procedures.

The current Chief Justice is Andrew Bell who was appointed by Governor Margaret Beazley.

List of chief justices of New South Wales

No.	Image	Chief Justice	Term began	Term ended	Time in of office	Governor appointed	Notes
1		Sir Francis Forbes	13 October 1823	1 July 1837	13 years, 261 days	Major General Sir Thomas Brisbane GCB, GCH, FRS, FRSE	[1]
2		Sir James Dowling	29 August 1837	27 September 1844	7 years, 29 days	General Sir Richard Bourke KCB	[2]
3		Sir Alfred Stephen GCMG, CB, PC	7 October 1844	6 November 1873	29 years, 30 days	Major Sir George Gipps	[3]
4		Sir James Martin KCB, QC	19 November 1873	4 November 1886	12 years, 350 days	Lord Rosmead GCMG, PC	[4]
5		Sir Julian Salomons	12 November 1886	27 November 1886	15 days	The Marquess Lincolnshire KG, GCMG, PC, JP, DL	[5]
6		Sir Frederick Darley GCMG, PC	29 November 1886	4 January 1910	23 years, 36 days		[6]
7		Sir William Cullen KCMG	28 January 1910	27 January 1925	14 years, 365 days	The Viscount Chelmsford GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GBE, PC	[7]
8		Sir Philip Street KCMG	28 January 1925	31 January 1934	9 years, 3 days	Admiral Sir Dudley de Chair KCB, KCMG, KBE, MVO	[8]
9		Sir Frederick Jordan KCMG	1 February 1934	4 November 1949	15 years, 276 days		[9]
10		Sir Kenneth Street KCMG, KStJ	6 January 1950	27 January 1960	10 years, 21 days	Lieutenant General Sir John Northcott KCMG, KCVO, CB, KStJ	[10]
11		Herbert Evatt , QC	15 February 1960	24 October 1962	2 years, 251 days	Lieutenant General Sir Eric Woodward KCMG, KCVO, CB, CBE, DSO	[11]
12		Sir Leslie Herron KBE, CMG, KStJ	25 October 1962	22 May 1972	9 years, 210 days		[12]
13		Sir John Kerr AK, GCMG, GCVO, QC	23 May 1972	27 June 1974	2 years, 35 days	Sir Roden Cutler VC, AK, KCMG, KCVO, CBE	[13]
14		Sir Laurence Street AC, KCMG, QC	28 June 1974	1 November 1988	14 years, 126 days		[14]
15		Murray Gleeson AC, QC	2 November 1988	21 May 1998	9 years, 200 days	Air Marshal Sir James Rowland AC, KBE, DFC, AFC
16		James Spigelman AC, QC	25 May 1998	31 May 2011	13 years, 6 days	Gordon Samuels AC, CVO, QC	[15]
17		Tom Bathurst AC	1 June 2011	5 March 2022	10 years, 277 days	Dame Marie Bashir AD, CVO	[16]
18		Andrew Bell	7 March 2022		2 years, 287 days	Margaret Beazley AC, KC	[17]

See also

• Judiciary of Australia

References

1. Currey, C.H. "Forbes, Sir Francis (1784–1841)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943.
2. "Sir James Dowling". NSW State Archives & Records.
3. "Sir Alfred Stephen KCMG, CB, GCMG". NSW State Archives & Records.
4. "Sir James Martin". NSW State Archives & Records.
5. Edgar, S.; Nairn, B. "Salomons, Sir Julian Emanuel (1835–1909)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943.
6. "The Rt Hon Sir Frederick Matthew Darley PC, KCMG, GCMG". NSW State Archives & Records.
7. "Hon. Sir William Portus Cullen Kt., KCMG". NSW State Archives & Records.
8. "Hon. Sir Kenneth Whistler Street K.C.M.G." NSW State Archives & Records.
9. Bennett, J.M. "Jordan, Sir Frederick Richard (1881–1949)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943.
10. "Hon. Sir Kenneth Whistler Street K.C.M.G." NSW State Archives & Records.
11. "Herbert Vere Evatt PC". NSW State Archives & Records.
12. "Sir Leslie James Herron KBE, CMG, K.St.J." NSW State Archives & Records.
13. Edwards, P. "Kerr, Sir John Robert (1914–1991)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
14. "Hon. Sir Laurence Whistler Street AC, KCMG, KStJ". NSW State Archives & Records.
15. "Swearing In Ceremony of The Honourable J J Spigelman QC" (PDF). 25 May 1998.
16. "Swearing-In Ceremony of the Honourable TF Bathurst QC". New South Wales Judicial Scholarship. 8 December 2023. [2011] NSW Judicial Scholarship 17.
17. "New Chief Justice of NSW". NSW Department of Communities and Justice. Retrieved 28 February 2022.^{[permanent dead link‍]}