Ronald Wilson

Wilson was born in Geraldton, in Western Australia (WA) on 23 August 1922. His early life was marked by sorrow and hardship. When he was four years old his mother died. At the age of seven his father, also a lawyer, suffered a stroke and spent the next five years in a hospice.[4] His older brother became a father figure to him and for years the family faced financial struggles. At the age of 14, Wilson left formal schooling and took his first job as a messenger with the Geraldton Local Court.[4]

In September 1941, following the outbreak of World War II, Wilson enlisted in the army reserve, which was known at the time as the Militia (service no. W46518) and was posted to the 44th Battalion.[5] The battalion was part of a Special Mobile Force stationed in coastal areas between Perth and Geraldton, to respond in the event of an attack by Japanese forces.

Transferring to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in July 1942,[6] Wilson (service no. 427404) received pilot training under the Empire Air Training Scheme, and was posted to the UK, for operations with Royal Air Force (RAF) formations. At the end of the war he was serving with No. 287 Squadron RAF, an anti-aircraft cooperation unit (i.e. it assisted in the training of anti-aircraft gunners).[5] Wilson flew Spitfires, among other types of aircraft.[2] He was discharged from the RAAF on 14 February 1946, with the rank of Flying Officer.[2][5]

After returning to Australia, Wilson enrolled in the University of Western Australia finishing with a law degree in 1949.[4] He later completed a Master of Laws degree at the University of Pennsylvania in 1957, as a Fulbright scholar.[4]

Wilson was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in 1951. He had a rapid rise in his legal career, becoming Crown Prosecutor for Western Australia in 1959, only eight years after starting work as a lawyer.[7] In 1963, he was admitted as a Queen's Counsel,[4] at the time, the youngest ever in Western Australia. As a prosecutor, Wilson earned the nickname of the "Avenging Angel".[1]

In 2002 and 2005 two men he had prosecuted for murder have had their convictions overturned: John Button, who was convicted in 1963 of the manslaughter of his girlfriend Rosemary Anderson had his conviction overturned by the Western Australian Court of Appeal.[8] Darryl Beamish who had been convicted of the 1959 murder of Jillian Brewer had his conviction overturned in 2005.[9] Perth serial killer, Eric Edgar Cooke, confessed to both offences before he was hanged for other murders, but was not believed by authorities. The convictions were eventually overturned in 2002.

In 1969, Wilson became the Solicitor-General of Western Australia. He served in that position for ten years[7] working under both Labor and Liberal governments.

The Fraser Government appointed Wilson to the High Court of Australia in 1979 and was the first member of the Court from Western Australia.[4] Wilson adopted a federalist position on the court; and was frequently in the minority on issues relating to the scope of the Commonwealth's external affairs legislative power.[4]

In Koowarta v Bjelke-Petersen,[10] Wilson was in the minority in holding that the external affairs power in the Australian constitution applied only to relationships outside Australia. The majority of the High Court found that the treaty need only apply to issues of clear international concern. The majority held the Federal Parliament had the power to pass the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 as a result of Australia being a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

In Commonwealth v Tasmania,[11] the external affairs power was again the central issue. The new Hawke Government had used the external affairs power as the basis for passing legislation preventing the Tasmanian Government from building a hydro-electric dam on the Franklin River. Wilson considered that the external affairs power did not give the Federal Parliament authority to pass such legislation as it could obtain power to pass any form of legislation it wished by simply entering into a treaty with another power.[4] Chief Justice Harry Gibbs and Daryl Dawson were the other judges joining Wilson in the dissenting judgement.

Wilson dissented on the first Mabo case of 1988,[4] with the majority finding that the Queensland Coast Islands Declaratory Act, 1879 (Qld), which attempted to retrospectively abolish native title rights, was not valid according to the Racial Discrimination Act, 1975 (Cth).

Wilson retired from the High Court in 1989,[7] aged 67 years.

In 1990 the Hawke Government appointed Wilson as the President of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, where he served until his retirement in 1997.[12] During his term as Human Right Commissioner, Wilson also served as Deputy Chairperson of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation from 1991 to 1994.[6]

Wilson was Chancellor of Murdoch University between 1980 and 1995.[13] The "Ronald Wilson Prize in Law" was first awarded by Murdoch University in 1993 to the graduate who best combines distinguished academic performance in law units with qualities of character, leadership and all-round contribution to the life of the university.

Throughout his life, Wilson was an active participant in first the Presbyterian Church of Australia and then the Uniting Church in Australia. He held a range of senior positions in the Church including Moderator of Assembly, Presbyterian Church in Western Australia (1965); Moderator, Synod of Western Australia, Uniting Church in Australia (1977-1979); President of the Assembly, Uniting Church in Australia (1988-1991), the first layperson to hold that post;[7] and President of the Australian Chapter of the World Conference on Religion and Peace (1991-1996).

He was particularly concerned with encouraging the broad Australian community to gain an understanding of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history.[7] In retirement, he travelled widely to Aboriginal and church events, and was an active member of a refugee education scheme near his home.

In 1978 Wilson was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) for services to the community in Western Australia.[24] The following year he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) for services as a Justice of the High Court of Australia.[25] On 26 January 1988, Wilson was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for services to the law.[26]

In addition, Wilson was awarded the Centenary Medal on 1 January 2001 for service as a Justice of the High Court of Australia and to human rights.[27]

He has been conferred with honorary degrees from the University of Western Australia (Doctor of Laws), Keimyung University (Doctor of Education), and Murdoch University (Doctor of the University).[6]

Sir Ronald married Leila Smith[1] in April 1950; and together they had five children[1][7] and nine grandchildren.[4]

• Blackburn, Estelle (2001). Broken Lives. South Yarra, Victoria: Hardie Grant. ISBN 1-876719-79-6.
• Brett, Peter (1966). The Beamish Case. Melbourne University Press.
• Buti, Antonio (2007). A Matter of Conscience : Sir Ronald Wilson. Crawley, WA: UWA Press. ISBN 978-0-9802964-1-9.
• Kirby, Michael (2009). "Review of A Matter of Conscience: Sir Ronald Wilson, by Antonio Buti". Sydney Law Review. University of Sydney: Sydney Law School. 13 (31): 2.
• Lee, H. P; Winterton, George (2003). Australian Constitutional Landmarks. Cambridge University Press. pp. 269–270. ISBN 0-521-83158-X.

• Wilson, Ronald (9 August 2001). "Sir Ronald Wilson". Late Night Live (Interview: audio). Interviewed by Phillip Adams. Australia: ABC Radio National.