Laurence Street

Sir Laurence Whistler Street AC, KCMG, QC (born 3 July 1926) is an Australian jurist and former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. He was the third generation of the Street family to have served New South Wales in this role.

Family

Street is the son of a New South Wales Supreme Court Chief Justice. His father Sir Kenneth Street was Chief Justice between 1950 and 1960 following in the footsteps of Sir Laurence's grandfather, Sir Philip Whistler Street. His mother Jessie Street was renowned for her work for Aboriginal and women's rights. She "masterminded the formation of the Aboriginal Rights Organisation, which led to the successful referendum held in 1967". His sister Philippa married the Australian Test cricketer and journalist Jack Fingleton.

Biography

Street attended the Cranbook School in Bellevue Hill. After a stint in the Royal Australian Navy, he studied law at the University of Sydney. Street became a barrister at the New South Wales Bar in 1951. As a barrister he practised extensively in equity, commercial law and maritime law.