The WB Campbell Scholarship - The Honourable Sir Walter Campbell AC QC

This biography has been prepared by UQLA Director Emily McClelland.

Sir Walter Campbell was a distinguished jurist and dedicated public servant, serving as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland, Chancellor of the University of Queensland, and Governor of Queensland.

Sir Walter was born on 4 March 1921 in Burringbar, northern New South Wales and attended high school at Downlands College in Toowoomba, where he was dux and school captain.

Sir Walter started studying Arts and Law at the University of Queensland in 1940 and in 1941 was elected as editor of Semper Floreat, the UQ Union student magazine. Sir Campbell then joined the Royal Australian Air Force and served as a pilot from 1941-1946, initially as a flying instructor and later as a flight commander in a Liberator Squadron.

In 1942, Sir Walter married Georgina Pearce, a teacher, and together had three children, Peter, Wallace, and Deborah.

Sir Walter graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (1944), after completing his degree through external study. After the war, he graduated with a Master of Arts in Philosophy (1947) and Bachelor of Laws with first class honours (1948). During his law degree, Sir Walter served as president of the University of Queensland Law Society and participated in the UQ debating team. As UQ Law Society president, he arranged for Sir Owen Dixon to address his fellow students. He also won the Virgil Power Prize for the student showing greatest proficiency in the final two years of the Law degree.

After graduating, Sir Walter maintained a close connection with the University of Queensland, including as special lecturer in law at the University of Queensland (1948-1965), a member of the Board of the Law Faculty until 1976, and as a member of the senate of The University of Queensland (1963-1985). Sir Walter then served as chancellor of the University of Queensland (1977-1985).

Sir Walter was also awarded a Doctor of Laws honoris causa in 1980.

On 16 March 1948, Sir Walter was admitted as a barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland. He practised as a barrister for 19 years in Brisbane, taking silk on 27 October 1960. Sir Walter was a very successful barrister and appeared several times in front of the Privy Council. Sir Walter served as president of the Queensland Bar Association (1965-67), president of the Australian Bar Association (1966-67), and member of the Supreme Court Library Committee (1961-67).

Sir Walter also published articles on legal issues in the Australian Law Journal and the University of Queensland Law Journal.

On 13 July 1967, Sir Walter was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland. He was knighted in 1979 and appointed the fourteenth Chief Justice of Queensland on 18 February 1982. During his tenure on the court, he also served as chairman of the Queensland Law Reform Commission (1969-1973) and deputy chair of the Queensland Theatre Company (1969-1978). He resigned from the court on 7 July 1985 to become Governor of Queensland. During Sir Walter’s tenure as Governor, he effectively handled the 1987 constitutional crisis when Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen refused to resign after losing the support of his party.

He was appointed a Knight of the Order of St John of Jerusalem (1986) and a Companion of the Order of Australia (1989). Sir Walter retired from the office of governor on 28 July 1992 and continued to attend various speaking engagements. Sir Walter Campbell died on 4 September 2004.