Laurence Street

Sir Laurence Whistler Street
14th Chief Justice of New South Wales
In office
28 June 1974 – 1 November 1988
Appointed byElizabeth II
Preceded bySir John Kerr
Succeeded byMurray Gleeson
Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales
In office
1 July 1974 – 24 July 1989
Preceded bySir Leslie Herron
Succeeded byMurray Gleeson
Personal details
Born(1926-07-03)3 July 1926
Sydney, Australia
Died21 June 2018(2018-06-21) (aged 91)
Children5, including Sandy Street
Parent(s)Sir Kenneth Street
Jessie, Lady Street
RelativesStreet family
Alma materSydney Law School
Military service
AllegianceAustralia
Branch/serviceRoyal Australian Navy
Australian Army Reserve
RankCommander (Navy)
Hon. Colonel (Army)
Battles/warsSecond World War

Sir Laurence Whistler Street, AC, KCMG, KStJ, QC (3 July 1926 – 21 June 2018) was the 14th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales.[1] He was the third generation of the Street family to serve in these viceregal offices and the youngest since 1844.[2] Street fought in World War II and became a commander in the Royal Australian Navy Reserve and an honorary colonel in the Australian Army Reserve.[3]

Following his retirement from the bench, Street became the chairman of Fairfax Media and a director of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the oldest bank in the world.[4] He chaired the integration of protocols between the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, and he chaired naval warship acquisitions. He pioneered alternative dispute resolution, worked prolifically in mediation, and he ascertained the return to Australia of the remains of 17 Indigenous Australians from the National History Museum in London, the first such mediation.[5]

  1. ^ "Sir Alfred Stephen, 3rd Chief Justice of NSW, 1844 to 1873". Archived from the original on 23 February 2011.
  2. ^ Sun-Herald (Sydney), 20 February 1972.
  3. ^ "'A great lion has fallen': a state farewell for Sir Laurence Street". The Australian. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  4. ^ "We're for Sydney". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  5. ^ "Who's Who Legal".