List of judges of the Supreme Court of South Australia

Of the judges of the Supreme Court of South Australia,^[1] as of September 2018^[update], 14 had previously served in the Parliament of South Australia Edward Gwynne, Sir Richard Hanson, Randolph Stow, Sir Samuel Way, Sir James Boucaut, Richard Andrews, Sir William Bundey, Sir John Gordon, Robert Homburg, Sir Angas Parsons, Sir Charles Abbott, Leo Travers, Len King and Robin Millhouse. In addition, Sir John Jeffcott served as a member of the South Australian Legislative Council concurrent with his brief tenure as a judge in South Australia.

Position	Name	Appointment commenced	Appointment ended	Term in office	Comments	Notes
Chief Justice	Sir Charles Cooper	1 July 1856	20 November 1861	5 years, 142 days
	Sir Richard Hanson	20 November 1861	4 March 1876	14 years, 105 days
	Sir Samuel Way, 1st Baronet	18 March 1876	8 January 1916	39 years, 296 days
	Sir George Murray KCMG	20 January 1916	18 February 1942	26 years, 29 days
	Sir Mellis Napier KCMG	25 February 1942	28 February 1967	25 years, 3 days
	Dr John Bray AC	28 February 1967	28 November 1978	11 years, 273 days
	Len King AC	30 October 1978	28 April 1995	16 years, 180 days
	John Doyle AC [a]	4 May 1995	22 June 2012	17 years, 49 days		[2]
	Chris Kourakis	25 June 2012		12 years, 149 days		[3]
Judge of the Court of Appeal	Patricia Kelly	1 January 2021	31 August 2021	242 days	President of the Court of Appeal from 1 January 2021 to 31 August 2021
	Mark Livesey	1 January 2021		3 years, 325 days	President of the Court of Appeal from 1 September 2021
	David Lovell	1 January 2021		3 years, 325 days
	Samuel Doyle	1 January 2021		3 years, 325 days
	Chris Bleby	1 January 2021		3 years, 325 days
	Sophie David	1 September 2021		3 years, 81 days
Judge	Sir John Jeffcott	27 May 1836	12 December 1837	1 year, 199 days
	Sir Charles Cooper	July 1838	20 November 1861	23 years, 112–142 days
	Dr George Crawford	27 June 1850	24 September 1852	2 years, 89 days
	Benjamin Boothby	25 February 1853	29 July 1867	14 years, 154 days	removed from office
	Edward Gwynne	26 February 1859	28 February 1881	22 years, 2 days
	William Wearing	8 August 1867	25 February 1875	7 years, 201 days
	Randolph Stow	15 March 1875	17 September 1878	3 years, 186 days
	Sir James Boucaut	25 September 1878	24 February 1905	26 years, 152 days
	Richard Andrews	9 March 1881	26 June 1884	3 years, 109 days
	Sir William Bundey	2 July 1884	30 November 1903	19 years, 151 days
	Sir John Gordon	2 December 1903	23 December 1923	20 years, 21 days
	Robert Homburg	24 February 1905	23 March 1912	7 years, 28 days
	Sir George Murray KCMG	2 April 1913	18 February 1942	28 years, 322 days
	Alexander Buchanan	20 January 1916	6 January 1921	4 years, 352 days
	Thomas Poole	25 September 1919	2 May 1927	7 years, 219 days
	Sir Herbert Angas Parsons	6 January 1921	16 June 1945	24 years, 161 days
	Sir Mellis Napier KCMG	28 February 1924	28 February 1967	43 years, 0 days
	Sir Frederick Richards	23 March 1927	6 December 1945	18 years, 258 days
	Arthur William Piper	16 June 1927	19 February 1936	8 years, 248 days
	Edward Erskine Cleland	5 March 1936	1 July 1943	7 years, 118 days
	Sir Herbert Mayo	30 March 1942	30 June 1966	24 years, 92 days
	Sir Geoffrey Reed	15 July 1943	14 March 1962	18 years, 242 days
	Sir George Ligertwood	12 July 1945	14 October 1958	13 years, 94 days
	Sir Charles Abbott	2 May 1946	30 October 1959	13 years, 181 days		[4]
	Sir Bruce Ross	20 November 1952	21 May 1963	10 years, 182 days
	Francis Piper	15 October 1958	27 September 1959	347 days
	James Brazel	16 November 1959	23 August 1961	1 year, 280 days
	Sir Roderic Chamberlain	16 November 1959	16 June 1971	11 years, 212 days
	Vivian Millhouse	26 October 1961	24 October 1963	1 year, 363 days
	John Leo Travers (Leo)	14 May 1962	19 October 1969	7 years, 158 days
	David Hogarth	12 July 1962	14 September 1979	17 years, 64 days
	Sir Charles Bright	24 October 1963	15 December 1978	15 years, 52 days
	Dame Roma Mitchell	23 September 1965	1 October 1983	18 years, 8 days
	George Walters	1 July 1966	1 September 1984	18 years, 62 days
	Dr Howard Zelling	23 October 1969	13 August 1986	16 years, 294 days
	Andrew Wells	21 May 1970	8 June 1984	14 years, 18 days
	Keith Sangster	24 June 1971	1 March 1984	12 years, 251 days
	Samuel Jacobs	17 May 1973	4 December 1990	17 years, 201 days
	Len King	20 June 1975	28 April 1995	19 years, 312 days
	Michael White	15 June 1978	2 February 1993	14 years, 232 days
	Christopher Legoe	29 June 1978	22 April 1994	15 years, 297 days
	Brian Cox	21 December 1978	5 February 1999	20 years, 46 days
	Robert Mohr	21 December 1978	28 July 1995	16 years, 219 days
	Roderick Matheson	9 August 1979	4 August 1998	18 years, 360 days
	Donald Williams	23 March 1980	24 September 1982	2 years, 185 days
	Derek Bollen	4 March 1982	27 March 1997	15 years, 23 days
	Robin Millhouse	7 July 1982	8 December 1999	17 years, 154 days
	Elliott Johnston[5]	28 June 1983	26 February 1988	4 years, 243 days
	Graham Prior	1 March 1984	5 July 2004	20 years, 126 days
	Trevor Olsson	28 June 1984	30 July 2001	17 years, 32 days
	Maurice O'Loughlin	30 August 1984	31 July 1989	4 years, 335 days	Appointed to the Federal Court
	John von Doussa	14 August 1986	30 November 1988	2 years, 108 days	Appointed to the Federal Court
	John Perry	3 March 1988	2 April 2007	19 years, 30 days
	Kevin Duggan AM, RFD	1 December 1988	25 July 2011	22 years, 236 days		[6]
	Ted Mullighan	7 September 1989	2 December 2004	15 years, 86 days
	Bruce Debelle	11 October 1990	25 June 2008	17 years, 258 days		[7]
	Margaret Nyland	15 October 1993	16 November 2012	19 years, 32 days		[8]
	Bruce Lander	24 November 1994	13 July 2003	8 years, 231 days	Appointed to the Federal Court	[9]
	Tim Williams	12 September 1995	17 April 2003	7 years, 217 days
	David Bleby	2 April 1997	10 June 2011	14 years, 69 days		[10]
	David Wicks	13 August 1998	22 August 2003	5 years, 9 days
	Brian Martin	23 February 1999	27 January 2004	4 years, 338 days
	Thomas Gray	26 April 2000	27 February 2016	15 years, 307 days
	Anthony Besanko	18 October 2001	31 March 2006	4 years, 164 days	Appointed to the Federal Court
John Sulan	3 April 2003	21 April 2016	13 years, 18 days
Ann Vanstone	21 August 2003	13 June 2019	15 years, 296 days	Subsequently appointed Independent Commissioner Against Corruption	[11]
Timothy Anderson	27 November 2003	30 June 2014	10 years, 215 days
Richard Conway White	6 May 2004	30 August 2013	9 years, 116 days	Appointed to the Federal Court
Robyn Ann Layton	14 February 2005	3 September 2010	5 years, 201 days
Michael David	6 July 2006	25 October 2014	8 years, 111 days
Patricia Kelly	18 January 2007	30 August 2021	14 years, 224 days
Chris Kourakis	21 August 2008		16 years, 92 days		[12]
David Peek	30 September 2010	2 April 2022	11 years, 184 days		[13]
Malcolm Blue	12 August 2011	12 August 2024	13 years, 0 days		[14]
Tim Stanley	17 August 2011		13 years, 96 days		[15]
Kevin Nicholson	19 July 2012	27 March 2023[16]	10 years, 251 days		[17]
Anne Bampton	14 November 2013		11 years, 7 days		[18]
Greg Parker	14 November 2013	March 2022	8 years, 118 days		[18]
David Lovell	12 February 2015		9 years, 283 days		[19]
Samuel Doyle [a]	18 December 2015		8 years, 339 days		[20]
Martin Hinton	28 April 2016	15 November 2019	3 years, 201 days	Resigned to become Director of Public Prosecutions for South Australia	[21]
Judith Hughes	4 July 2017		7 years, 140 days		[22]
Mark Livesey	28 January 2020		4 years, 298 days		[23]
Dr Chris Bleby	4 May 2020		4 years, 201 days		[24]
Sophie David	28 January 2021		3 years, 298 days
Laura Stein	6 September 2021		3 years, 76 days
Sandi McDonald	29 November 2021		2 years, 358 days
Adam Kimber	2 June 2022		2 years, 172 days
Julie McIntyre	1 February 2023		1 year, 294 days		[16]
Acting Judge	Henry Jickling	1837	1838	0–1 years		[25]
Master	Charles Mann	1844	1849	4–5 years
	Henry Jickling	1850	1861	10–11 years
	W. Hinde	1861	1878	16–17 years
	James Russell	1878	1884	5–6 years
	W. D. Scott	1884	1891	6–7 years
	Alexander Buchanan	1891	1912	20–21 years
	W. L. Stuart	1913	1932	18–19 years
	Fred McBryde	1932	1957	24–25 years
	K. H. Kirkman	1957	1961	3–4 years
	George Walters	1961	1965	3–4 years
	William Forster	1966	1971	4–5 years
	J. Boehm	1971	1984	12–13 years
	Malcolm Teesdale Smith	1981	1985	3–4 years
	R. G. Ferrett	1981	1987	5–6 years
	Robert Lunn	1984	23 November 2012	35–36 years		[26]
	David St Leger Kelly	1985		<1 year
	Peter Bowen Pain	1986		<1 year
	Brendan Burley	1987		<1 year
		23 November 2012	29 March 2013	126 days
	Jeffrey Anderson	1990		<1 year		[27]
	Brian Withers	December 2004	September 2015	10–11 years		[28]
	Graham Dart	29 March 2013		11 years, 237 days
	Katrina Bochner	14 September 2015		9 years, 68 days
Deputy Master	Fred McBryde	1921	1932	10–11 years
	K. H. Kirkman	1932	1957	24–25 years
	George Walters	1957	1961	3–4 years
	William Forster	1961	1966	4–5 years
	Trevor Olsson	1963	1968	4–5 years
	J. Boehm	1966	1971	4–5 years
	Malcolm Teesdale Smith	1969	1981	11–12 years
	R. G. Ferrett	1978	1981	2–3 years
	Robert Lunn	1972	1984	11–12 years

See also

• Judiciary of Australia

Notes

1. Samuel Doyle is the son of former Chief Justice John Doyle.

References

1. "Judicial Officers". Courts Administration Authority of South Australia. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
2. "Retirement of the Chief Justice John Jeremy Doyle AC speech" (PDF). Attorney General's Department. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
3. "Media Release - New Chief Justice Kourakis". Courts Administration Authority. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
4. "Hon Sir Charles Abbott". Former members of the Parliament of South Australia. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
5. Debelle, Penelope (24 February 2011). "Judge red - the Communist on the bench". Adelaide Now.
6. Livesey QC, M.C. "Special Sitting for the Retirement of Justice Duggan" (PDF). SA Bar. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
7. "Chief Justice John Doyle on Retirement of the Honourable Justice Debelle". Networked Knowledge. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
8. "Retirement of the Supreme Court Justice Margaret Jean Nyland AM speech" (PDF). Attorney-General's Department. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2014.
9. W. Matthew (24 November 1994). "Notice" (PDF). South Australian Government Gazette. p. 1603. ATTG 54/1993CS. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
10. Fewster, Sean (8 June 2011). "Judge tells lawyers 'don't fleece clients'". Adelaide Now. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
11. "Former Supreme Court justice Ann Vanstone to be SA's new anti-corruption watchdog". www.abc.net.au. 27 July 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
12. "Fresh faces to lead the law". Dr Robert N Moles. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
13. "Special Sitting for the Presentation of Commission of Justice Peek" (PDF). SA Bar. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
14. "Special Sitting for the Presentation of Commission of Justice Blue" (PDF). SA Bar. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
15. "Special Sitting for the Presentation of Commission of Justice Stanley" (PDF). SA Bar. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
16. Katsaras, Jason (2 February 2023). "SA's first Aboriginal magistrates appointed". InDaily. Retrieved 4 February 2023. District Court Judge Julie McIntyre is being elevated to the Supreme Court ahead of the retirement of Justice Kevin Nicholson...
17. "Media Release for appointment of Justice Nicholson". Courts Administration Authority. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
18. "Anne Bampton and Greg Parker appointed to Supreme Court | Attorney-General's Department". Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
19. "New Judge appointed to the Supreme Court | Attorney-General's Department". Archived from the original on 17 March 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
20. Jay Weatherill (17 December 2015). "Notice" (PDF). South Australian Government Gazette. p. 5213. AGO0172/15CS. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
21. "Martin Hinton appointed to Supreme Court". 28 April 2016.
22. Gov Gazette July 2017
23. Gov Gazette January 2020
24. Gov Gazette April 2020
25. "Supreme Court History". Supreme Court of South Australia. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
26. Fewster, Sean (23 November 2012). "'I'm out' - Judge Robert Lunn's exit delays epic divorce case". Adelaide Now. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
27. "NT medical clinic wins over the ACC's coercive powers". Crikey. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
28. "Brian Withers appointed to the bench". Law Council of Australia. Retrieved 11 December 2012.^{[permanent dead link‍]}