The chief justice of Queensland is the senior judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland and the highest ranking judicial officer in the Australian state of Queensland. 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 Helen Bowskill, who was sworn in on 22 March 2022. Justice Bowskill is the second female chief justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland after her predecessor, Catherine Holmes SC.
Name | Term | Reason for leaving | Death |
---|---|---|---|
Sir James Cockle | 21 February 1863 – 24 June 1879 | Retired | 27 January 1895 |
Sir Charles Lilley | 25 June 1879 – 13 March 1893 | Resigned | 20 August 1897 |
Sir Samuel Griffith, | 13 March 1893 – 4 October 1903 | Appointed Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia | 9 August 1920 |
Sir Pope Alexander Cooper, | 21 October 1903 – 31 March 1922 | Retired | 30 August 1923 |
Thomas McCawley | 1 April 1922 – 16 April 1925 | Death | 16 April 1925 |
Sir James Blair, | 24 April 1925 – 16 May 1940 | Retired | 18 November 1944 |
Hugh Denis Macrossan | 17 May 1940 – 23 June 1940 | Death | 23 June 1940 |
Sir William Webb, | 27 June 1940 – 15 May 1946 | Appointed to the High Court of Australia | 11 August 1972 |
Neal Macrossan | 23 April 1946 – 30 December 1955 | Death | 30 December 1955 |
Sir Alan Mansfield, | 9 February 1956 – 21 February 1966 | Appointed as Governor of Queensland | 17 July 1980 |
William Mack | 24 February 1966 – 12 May 1971 | Retired | 26 July 1979 |
Sir Mostyn Hanger, | 13 May 1971 – 18 July 1977 | Retired | 11 August 1980 |
Sir Charles Wanstall | 19 July 1977 – 17 February 1982 | Retired | 17 October 1999 |
Sir Walter Campbell, | 18 February 1982 – 7 July 1985 | Appointed as Governor of Queensland | 4 September 2004 |
Sir Dormer Andrews | 8 July 1985 – 7 April 1989 | Retired | 28 July 2004 |
John Murtagh Macrossan | 10 April 1989 – 16 February 1998 | Retired | 5 August 2008 |
Paul de Jersey, | 21 September 1998 – 8 July 2014 | Appointed as Governor of Queensland | |
Tim Carmody, | 8 July 2014 – 1 July 2015 | Resigned [1] | |
Catherine Holmes, SC | 11 September 2015 – 19 March 2022 | Retired [2] | |
Helen Bowskill, | 19 March 2022 - present |