{{Short description|Australian jurist (1922–2021)}} {{Use Australian English|date=July 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Hal Wootten | honorific_suffix = AC, QC | image = | alt = | caption = | office = Puisne judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales | term_start = {{start date|1973|3|14|df=y}} | term_end = {{end date|1983|10|7|df=y}} | nominator = <!--Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number--> | appointer = | predecessor = | successor = <!--Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number--> | birth_date = {{Birth date|1922|12|19|df=y}} | birth_place = Tweed Heads, New South Wales, Australia | death_date = {{Death date and age|2021|07|27|1922|12|19|df=y}} | death_place = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | birth_name = John Halden Wootten | citizenship = Australian | party = | other_party = <!--For additional political affiliations--> | spouse = Gillian Cowlishaw | partner = <!--For those with a domestic partner and not married--> | relations = | children = | alma_mater = University of Sydney | occupation = | profession = Barrister<br>Academic<br>Judge<br>Aboriginal and human rights lawyer<br>Social justice advocate | signature = | signature_alt = | website = | footnotes = }} '''John Halden Wootten''' {{post-nominals |country=AUS|AC}} <small>QC</small> (19 December 1922 – 27 July 2021) was an Australian lawyer and legal academic and the founder of the University of New South Wales Faculty of Law, of which he was the Foundation Chair and its inaugural Dean.<ref name="Thompson">{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bigideas/wisdom-interviews-hal-wootten-qc/3446536|title=Wisdom Interviews: Hal Wootten QC|first=Peter|last=Thompson|work=Big Ideas|publisher=Radio National|date=1 May 2005}}</ref> Wootten served in multiple capacities and offices, including as a Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, a Chairman of the Law Reform Commission of New South Wales, and a Deputy President of the Native Title Tribunal.<ref name="LRCNSW">{{cite web|url=http://www.lawreform.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lrc/lrc_johnwootten.html|title=John H Wootten|publisher=Law Reform Commission New South Wales|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140622213338/http://www.lawreform.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lrc/lrc_johnwootten.html|archive-date=22 June 2014}}</ref>
==Early life and education== John Halden Wootten was born to a lower-middle-class<ref name="Faine">Faine J. (1992.) [https://books.google.com/books?id=ViubyqnuXdYC&pg=PA174 ''Taken on Oath: A Generation of Lawyers''], Federation Press, Leichhardt, p. 174.</ref> family of dairy farmers from the North Coast region of New South Wales and is of English descent.<ref name="Thompson"/> Wootten's father grew up at Hal's paternal grandparents' farm in Alstonville, alongside Hal's uncles, in a Methodist upbringing.<ref name="Thompson"/> Wootten's father died when Hal was 11 months old;<ref name="Thompson"/> he was raised by his mother and, primarily, her parents, with whom Wootten lived until he was 9 years old.<ref name="Thompson"/> As a result of his mother's uncontrolled diabetes, Wootten was born a "huge baby", with two broken arms.<ref name="Thompson"/> One of these arms might have otherwise withered were it not for intervention by an elderly black woman who worked for Wootten's mother, who would massage his arms daily; however, though the uses of this arm are restricted, it remained relatively functional.<ref name="Thompson"/>
Wootten undertook his primary schooling at Willoughby Public School and Double Bay Public School, when his mother ran her dress-making business.<ref name="Thompson"/>
Wootten was educated at Sydney Boys High School in Surry Hills,<ref>Horner J. (2004.) [https://books.google.com/books?id=hzJNLcYbymIC&pg=PA4 ''Seeking Racial Justice: An Insider's Memoir of the Movement for Aboriginal Advancement, 1938–1978''], Aboriginal Studies Press, p. 4.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.law.unsw.edu.au/sites/law.unsw.edu.au/files/pre/f/docs/news/2008/hal-wootten-lecture-speech.pdf|title=The Hal Wootten Lecture 2008: Living in the Law|first=Hal|last=Wootten|year=2008|publisher=UNSW Faculty of Law}}</ref> graduating in the class of 1939,<ref>Sydney Boys High School. (27 July 2007.) [http://www.sydneyboyshigh.com/publications/document-library/doc_view/7682-high-notes-vol-8-no-21-july-27-2007 ''High Notes''], 8(21):4.</ref> and the University of Sydney, from 1940 to 1945,<ref name="Faine"/> where he earned a B.A., and the Sydney Law School, then the only law school in New South Wales, where he earned an LL.B.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://calendararchive.usyd.edu.au/Calendar/1940/PDF/1940%20-%200316.pdf|title=1940 - 0316|publisher=University of Sydney}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://calendararchive.usyd.edu.au/Calendar/1943/1943-44.doc|title=1943–44 - Calendar Archive|publisher=University of Sydney}}</ref>
==Career==
===Early career=== During his university studies, and interested in languages but dissuaded by his teacher-turned-school principal paternal uncle,<ref name="Thompson"/> Wootten commenced working at the State Crown Solicitor's Office.<ref name="Faine"/> From there, he joined the private sector, with the Sydney law firm Minter, Simpson & Co.<ref name="Thompson"/> Minter, Simpson & Co. would later merge with the Melbourne law firm Ellison, Hewison & Whitehead to form MinterEllison.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/obituaries/land-was-the-calling-of-a-highflying-lawyer/2008/04/20/1208629723105.html|title=Philip Simpson: Land was the calling of a highflying lawyer|work=Sydney Morning Herald|publisher=Fairfax Media|date=21 April 2008}}</ref>
In 1949, Wootten was called to the bar in New South Wales<ref name="Faine"/> but did not commence practising as a barrister until 1951.<ref name="Etter">Etter B. (ed.), Palmer M. (ed.) (1995.) [https://books.google.com/books?id=NX434am2lbwC&pg=PR14 ''Police Leadership in Australasia''], Federation Press, Leichhardt, p. xiv.</ref> In 1966, he took silk.<ref name="Etter"/>
===University of NSW Faculty of Law=== On 13 July 1964, the University of NSW University Council approved the creation of the UNSW Faculty of Law.<ref name="UNSW UA">{{cite web|url=http://www.recordkeeping.unsw.edu.au/documents/A11-Law.pdf|title=Agency details report - A11-Law|publisher=UNSW University Archives}}</ref> On 24 January 1966, the Foundation Chair of Law was created, with the appointee to also be the Dean of the Faculty of Law.<ref name="UNSW UA"/> On 8 September 1969, Wootten was appointed to this position, where, in 1971, he would oversee the first teaching classes in the faculty.<ref name="UNSW UA"/>
In 1970, Wootten helped establish the Aboriginal Legal Service, becoming its first president.<ref name="Etter"/> In 1973, Wootten stepped down from this position to take up his appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales.<ref name="Etter"/>
===Supreme Court of New South Wales=== Wootten was appointed a puisne judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales in 1973, serving until 1983.<ref name="LRCNSW"/>
===Later career=== Wootten has been involved in the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/wootten-warns-of-unrealistic-hopes-for-finding-closure-20121113-29aj2.html|title=Wootten warns of unrealistic hopes for finding closure|first=Jonathan|last=Swan|work=Sydney Morning Herald|publisher=Fairfax Media|date=14 November 2012}}</ref> and the Australian Conservation Foundation, as its president,<ref name="Thompson"/> among other causes.
Between 1984 and 1986, Wootten served as the chairman of the Australian Press Council.<ref>Kirkman D. A. (1996.) [http://www.presscouncil.org.au/uploads/52321files/press-files/whither-the-australian-press-coucil.pdf ''Whither the Australian Press Council: Its Formation, Function and Future'']{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Australian Press Council.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aial.org.au/Publications/webdocuments/Forums/Forum50.pdf|title=AIAL Forum|date=September 2006|publisher=Australian Institute of Administrative Law, Inc.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130409140522/http://aial.org.au/Publications/webdocuments/Forums/Forum50.pdf|archive-date=9 April 2013}}</ref> Following Rupert Murdoch's takeover of ''The Herald and Weekly Times'' and a decision from the 15-member council against calling on the Commonwealth Government for an independent tribunal to vet proposed media takeovers<ref name="The Age">''The Age''. (16 December 1986.) [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1300&dat=19861216&id=zq4yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2pMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3399,3417663 "Journalists may vote to pull out of Press Council"], ''The Age''.</ref> and in light of the council's failure to object to Murdoch's control of 70% of Australia's print media and the sense that both of these events were wrong and unjust, Wootten resigned in protest,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.law.unsw.edu.au/sites/law.unsw.edu.au/files/pre/f/docs/news/2007/speech_michael_mchugh.pdf|title=The Impact of High Court Decisions on the Governance of Australia|first=Michael|last=McHugh|publisher=University of New South Wales Law School}}</ref> alongside John Lawrence, a former federal president of the Australian Journalists Association.<ref name="The Age"/> {{cquote|Allowing Murdoch to assume control of Australian newspapers was unparalleled outside of totalitarian countries. The Federal Treasurer could stop the takeover if he wanted to … in this case it is a man who has renounced his citizenship to further his worldwide media power, and who makes no secret of the fact that he intends to make personal use of his control of newspapers.|author=Hal Wootten|source=''Sydney Morning Herald'' (17 December 1986)<ref>Pilger J. (2010.) [https://books.google.com/books?id=wPXUhDAqQ1YC&pg=PA280 ''A Secret Country''], Random House, p. 280.</ref><ref>Pilger J. (2010.) [https://books.google.com/books?id=8v1TmtI6m5YC&pg=PA473 ''Hidden Agendas''], Random House, p. 473.</ref>}}
==Honours== In 1990 Wootten was appointed Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for "service to human rights, to conservation, to legal education and to the law".<ref name=":0">{{cite news|date=11 June 1990|title=THE QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY 1990 HONOURS|page=1|newspaper=Commonwealth of Australia Gazette|issue=S141|location=Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article240730394|accessdate=23 September 2020|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> In 1994, Wootten was awarded an honorary LL.D. in recognition for his services to the law and the UNSW Faculty of Law.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.handbook.unsw.edu.au/archive/2004Calendar.pdf|title=Calendar 2004|publisher=University of New South Wales}}</ref>
==Personal life and death== Wootten was married three times. His first wife was Dorothy Adam, with whom he had four children;<ref name=png2021>{{cite web | title=Hal Wootten, great friend of PNG, dies at 98|first=Malcolm |last=Brown | publisher= The Sydney Morning Herald | via=Keith Jackson & Friends: PNG ATTITUDE | date=5 August 2021 | url=https://www.pngattitude.com/2021/08/hal-wootten-great-friend-of-png-dies-at-98.html | access-date=23 June 2024}}</ref> they separated in the early 1970s. In 1976 he married Jane Mathews (1940–2019) who was judge in the District, Supreme, and Federal Courts.<ref>{{cite web | title=The Hon. John Haldan 'Hal' Wootten AC QC | website=BarNews | date=8 September 1969 | url=https://barnews.nswbar.asn.au/summer-2021/98-the-hon-john-haldan-hal-wootten-ac-qc/ | access-date=23 June 2024}}</ref> After that marriage also ended in divorce, in 1991<ref name=png2021/> he married Gillian Cowlishaw,<ref>{{cite web | title=Why, and why not? |first= Andrew |last=Chalk | website=Inside Story | date=17 September 2021 | url=https://insidestory.org.au/why-and-why-not/ | access-date=23 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Vale Hal Wootten | website=NSWCCL | date=1 August 2018 | url=https://www.nswccl.org.au/vale_hal_wootten | access-date=23 June 2024}}</ref> a professor of anthropology at the University of Sydney.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://api.profiles.sydney.edu.au/AcademicProfiles/profile/resource?urlid=gillian.cowlishaw&type=cv|title=Curriculum Vitae: Professor Gillian Cowlishaw|first=Gillian|last=Cowlishaw|date=November 2012|publisher=University of Sydney Department of Anthropology}}</ref>
Wootten died on 27 July 2021 at the age of 98.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lo|first=Sawn|date=29 July 2021|title=In memory of Hal Wootten, founding Dean of UNSW Law & Justice|url=https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/business-law/memory-hal-wootten-founding-dean-unsw-law-justice|access-date=29 July 2021|website=UNSW Newsroom}}</ref> He was survived by his wife, Gillian Cowlishaw.<ref name=png2021/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{s-start}} <!-- {{s-legal}} {{s-bef |before= ?}} {{s-ttl |title= Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales |years= 1973{{endash}}1983}} {{s-aft |after= ?}} --> {{s-media}} {{s-bef |before= Geoffrey Sawer}} {{s-ttl |title=Chairman of the Australian Press Council|years=1987–1997}} {{s-aft |after= David Flint}} {{s-end}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wootten, Hal}} Category:1922 births Category:2021 deaths Category:Australian barristers Category:Australian legal scholars Category:Australian media personalities Category:Australian King's Counsel Category:Companions of the Order of Australia Category:Judges of the Supreme Court of New South Wales Category:Lawyers from Sydney Category:People educated at Sydney Boys High School Category:Sydney Law School alumni Category:Academic staff of the University of New South Wales