Sir William was called to the Bar in 1957 and appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1966. In 1977 Sir William became a judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and then judge of the Federal Court of Australia and in July 1982, he was appointed a Justice of the High Court of Australia and served on that court until 10 November 1995.
Sir William was sworn in as Australia’s 22nd Governor-General on 16 February 1996 and served until 2001. He was appointed a Knight of the British Empire in 1982 and a Companion in the Order of Australia in 1988.
Retired after a career in manufacturing in Australia and the USA with companies such as BHP, CSR (Executive Director), James Hardie Industries (CEO & MD).
Retired Chairman of the Bank of China Australia Ltd. Past President of Alzheimers Australia NSW and past Chairman of Road Safety Education Limited.
Principal of the Pymble Ladies’ College from 1989 until 2007.
Commissioner of the NSW Police Force from 2002 until 2007.
A/Prof Brian Owler is an adult and pediatric neurosurgeon and a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. He is a former Federal President of the Australian Medical Association (AMA).
Judge of the NSW Supreme Court including Chief Judge at Common Law from 1984 until 2005 and former Chairman of the NSW Law Reform Commission.