- William Owen (judge)
Infobox Judge
name = Sir William Owen
caption =
order =
office = Puisne Justice of the High Court of Australia
term_start =22 September 1961
term_end =31 March 1972
appointer =Robert Menzies
predecessor = Sir Wilfred Fullagar
successor = Sir Anthony Mason
birth_date =21 November 1899
birth_place =Sydney ,New South Wales ,Australia
death_date =31 March 1972
death_place =Sir William Francis Langer Owen, KBE, PC (
21 November 1899 –31 March 1972 ),Australia n judge, was a Justice of theHigh Court of Australia .Owen was born in 1899 in
Sydney ,New South Wales . He was educated atSydney Grammar School , where he was in the school's cadet unit. DuringWorld War I , from 1915 to 1919, Owen served in theFirst Australian Imperial Force . Owen enlisted on31 December 1915, and was assigned as asapper in the 9th Field Company Engineers, part of the Australian 3rd Division. Owen was wounded in action on20 September 1917 , during the Battle of Menin Road, part of thePasschendaele campaign. Owen returned to service on7 October 1917. He was wounded a second time at the Battle of the Somme on23 May 1918 , and was evacuated to a military hospital inOrpington ,United Kingdom . On29 August he was reassigned to the Training Depot of the Australian Flying Corps. By the end of the war, Owen had been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant.ref|mil_recordAfter returning to Australia, Owen completed the bar examinations and was admitted to the
New South Wales Bar in 1923. In 1935, Owen was made aKing's Counsel . In 1936 Owen served as an Acting Judge of theSupreme Court of New South Wales , and in 1937 was made a full judge. In the late 1940s, Owen's associate wasLaurence Street , a futureChief Justice of New South Wales . In 1942 Owen succeededOwen Dixon as chair of theCentral Wool Committee , and in 1945 was the Australian delegate to theImperial Wool Conference . From 1954 to 1955, Owen chaired theRoyal Commission on Espionage , theRoyal Commission which resulted from the infamousPetrov Affair .In 1957 Owen was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and on
22 September 1961 he was appointed to the bench of the High Court, at the age of 61 and ten months. He remains the oldest person ever appointed to the High Court. Owen was elevated to theJudicial Committee of the Privy Council in 1963. He died in 1972.References
# cite web | title=Owen, William Francis Langer - Service record | work=National Archives of Australia | url=http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/imagine.asp?B=8004773&I=1 | accessdate=December 24 | accessyear=2005
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