First Among Equals

The story begins in the genteel city-state of Adelaide of the last days of Queen Victoria. The Post Office and the Town Hall in King William Street were the tallest structures in the Adelaide skyline.

Its dominating personality then was Chief Justice Sir Samuel Way. He was also Lieutenant-Governor, Chancellor of the University of Adelaide and presided over the Children's Hospital, Art Gallery, Museum, Library, Zoo and Botanical Gardens.

The twentieth century unfurled and the role of the chief justice in South Australia evolved. The State grew more sophisticated and the courts expanded considerably. It achieved its final form under Len King, chief justice from 1978 to 1995, who repositioned the importance of the judiciary in the three arms of government.