John Winneke

{{Short description|Australian judge (1938–2019)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}} {{Use Australian English|date=July 2011}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = {{pre-nominal styles|size=100%|Hon}} | name = John Winneke | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AC|RFD|QC|size=100%}} | image = | image_size = | office = President of the Victorian Court of Appeal | term_start = 7 June 1995 | term_end = 15 July 2005 | office2 = | term_start2 = | term_end2 = | office3 = | term_start3 = | term_end3 = | education = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1938|03|19|df=y}} | birth_place = | death_date = {{Death date and age|2019|04|04|1938|03|19|df=y}} | death_place = | spouse = | occupation = Judge, barrister | children = }} '''John Spence Winneke''', {{postnominals|country=AUS|size=100%|sep=,|AC|RFD|QC}} (19 March 1938 – 4 April 2019) was a judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria and President of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria, which is the highest ranking court in the Australian state of Victoria.<ref name="lots of details in this reference">{{cite web |last1=McMahon |first1=Caitlyn |title='Extraordinary leader': Tributes for former Supreme Court judge John Winneke |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/extraordinary-leader-tributes-for-former-supreme-court-judge-john-winneke-20190405-p51bek.html |website=The Age |ref=Tributes are flowing from Victoria’s legal community for former Supreme Court judge John Spence Winneke, who died on Thursday aged 81. |language=en |date=5 April 2019}}</ref>

==Early life== John Spence Winneke was the son of Sir Henry Winneke who was Solicitor-General for the State of Victoria, Chief Justice of Victoria, and Governor of Victoria. John Winneke's grandfather, Henry Christian Winneke, was a judge of the County Court of Victoria.

Winneke was educated at Scotch College and the University of Melbourne,<ref>[http://www.vicbar.com.au/pdf/134Farewells.pdf Victorian Bar Farewells] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927220304/http://www.vicbar.com.au/pdf/134Farewells.pdf |date=27 September 2007 }}</ref> where he was a Member of the ''Melbourne University Law Review''. When he completed his legal studies, he completed his articles with Josh Shaw of the law offices of Middleton McEarchern Shaw and Birch. He was admitted to practice as a solicitor on 1 March 1962. He was called to the Victorian Bar in 1962.<ref name="lots of details in this reference" /> He was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1976.

Winneke was also an outstanding Australian rules football player, who was ruckman in Hawthorn's inaugural VFL Premiership side in 1961, playing a total of 50 games for the club.<ref>Sheil, Fergus, [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/06/13/1087065030129.html Best and Fairest], The Age, Melbourne, 14 June 2004</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Vale John Winneke |url=https://www.hawthornfc.com.au/news/2019-04-05/vale-john-winneke |accessdate=5 April 2019 |work=hawthornfc.com.au}}</ref>

==Australian Defence Force== Winneke was commissioned as a commander in the Royal Australian Navy. He was also appointed a Defence Force Magistrate and held an appointment as a Reviewing Officer under the Defence Force Discipline Act.

==Noted cases== In 1970, Winneke was counsel assisting William Kaye in the "abortion graft inquiry", which inquired into allegations of corruption involving members of the Victorian Homicide Squad.<ref name="lots of details in this reference" />

In 1981, he was appointed as a Royal Commissioner by the Commonwealth of Australia and the State of Victoria to inquire into the affairs of the Builders Labourers Federation.

He appeared as senior counsel for Michael and Lindy Chamberlain before Justice Morling in the Royal Commission into their convictions for the murder of their infant daughter, Azaria Chamberlain.<ref name="lots of details in this reference" /> He appeared as counsel in the Royal Commission into the Westgate Bridge collapse,<ref name="lots of details in this reference" /> in the Derwent River Bridge Inquiry, and in the Housing Commission of Victoria Inquiry.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Farewells: Court of Appeal. The Honourable Justice Winneke AO AC|url=https://www.vicbar.com.au/sites/default/files/Documents/VBN_134_2005_Spring.pdf|journal=Victorian Bar News|issue=Spring 2005|pages=23|issn=0159-3285}}</ref>

==Judicial career== Winneke was appointed on 7 June 1995 as a judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria and as the first President of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria when the Court of Appeal was established that year. He was appointed as the acting Chief Justice for a brief period in 2003. He retired from the bench on 15 July 2005.<ref name="2005 career">{{cite web |title=Victorian Court of Appeal 25th Anniversary {{!}} The Supreme Court of Victoria |url=https://www.supremecourt.vic.gov.au/news/victorian-court-of-appeal-25th-anniversary |website=www.supremecourt.vic.gov.au |ref=The inaugural President was Justice John Winneke, who held office until 2005 when he was succeeded by Justice Maxwell. Originally comprising nine permanent judges (including the Chief Justice), the Court now has 13 permanent members.}}</ref>

==Honours== Winneke was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1999,<ref>[https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/882308 It's an Honour] – Officer of the Order of Australia</ref> and in 2004 was upgraded to the Companion of the Order of Australia (AC).<ref>[https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1056744 It's an Honour] – Companion of the Order of Australia</ref> Both were awarded for his significant contributions to the judiciary in Victoria.

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==External links== *{{AFL Tables|ref=J/John_Winneke.html}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070129141705/http://www.vicbar.com.au/pdf/133WinterBN.pdf Victorian Bar News], Winter 2005, {{ISSN|0159-3285}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winneke, John}} Category:1938 births Category:2019 deaths Category:Judges of the Supreme Court of Victoria Category:20th-century Australian judges Category:21st-century Australian judges Category:Companions of the Order of Australia Category:Officers of the Order of Australia Category:Royal Australian Navy officers Category:Hawthorn Football Club players Category:Hawthorn Football Club premiership players Category:Melbourne Law School alumni Category:People educated at Scotch College, Melbourne Category:University Blacks Football Club players Category:Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Category:Australian King's Counsel Category:VFL/AFL premiership players Category:20th-century Australian sportsmen