Chester Porter

Chester Porter QC (born 15 March 1926) is a prominent retired Australian barrister.

Chester Porter
Born(1926-03-15)15 March 1926
Alma materUniversity of Sydney
OccupationBarrister
TitleQueen's Counsel (QC)
Partner(s)Jean Featherstone,
ChildrenDorothy Porter; Mary Porter; Josie McSkimming
Parent(s)Coralie & Frederick Porter

Early life

Chester’s father was Frederick Porter. His mother Coralie was born to a Jewish family but later converted to Christianity. When asked about his faith he has at times referred to himself as a 'Christian Jew'.[1] Chester began high school at Barker College before going on to win a scholarship to Shore and finishing his high schooling there. While at Shore, Porter was captain of the debating team. He later graduated in law at the University of Sydney.

While a law student, Porter purportedly witnessed his friend Frank McAlary dance for a cameraman after the announcement of the end of the Second World War. He has long since publicly supported the theory that McAlary was the Dancing Man.[2]

He was admitted to the bar in 1948 aged 21, the youngest person ever admitted to the bar at the time, and subsequently the second youngest, in history, after Norman Jenkyn who was a few months younger.[1][3]

Chester is notable for his participation in the Voyager and Chamberlain Royal Commissions.[4] He defended notorious crooked police officer Roger Rogerson, on bribery charges against fellow police officer Michael Drury.[5] He was portrayed by John Hargreaves in the miniseries Blue Murder, about the trial of Roger Rogerson.[6] His defence of Judge John Foord was considered so miraculous that the headline "Chester Porter walks on water" was used in a newspaper.[7]

Porter was nicknamed the smiling funnel web because of his charm, great politeness and his forensic questioning. He advocated at the Bar for 52 years, joining in 1948, and becoming a Queen’s Counsel in 1974.

Porter urged improvement in forensic science as a result of his legal work and the Chamberlain Royal Commission. His efforts and those of others resulted in the National Institute of Forensic Science.

When he retired from the Bar in 2000 the Bar Council of NSW appointed him an Honorary Life Member for his exceptional service to the law.[8]

Porter was interviewed for the New South Wales Bar Association Oral History project.[9]

Writing

After retirement Porter became an author. His books are.

  • Walking on Water: a life in the law, Random House Australia 2004
  • The Gentle Art of Persuasion - How to argue effectively, Random House, 2005
  • The Conviction of the Innocent - How the law can let us down, Random House 2007[10]

Porter also wrote some articles for Bar News.[11][12]

Personal life

Chester married chemistry teacher Jean Featherstone. They had three daughters, the poet Dorothy Porter,[13] Mary Porter, a veterinarian, and Josie McSkimming, a social worker and academic.

Membership

Porter was a member of:

  • Liberal Party of NSW until the late 1960s;
  • NSW Dickens Society;

Jean and Chester were founding members of the NSW Dickens Society and were awarded the Percy Fitzgerald Award on 25 October 2016 for their support of the society since it founding in October 2002.[14]

  • Rostrum;

Porter joined Rostrum shortly after going to the bar when there weren't many Rostrum clubs in Australia. In his book The Gentle Art of Persuasion he attributes his improved speaking skills to Rostrum and said that becoming a "Critic in Rostrum one learns a great deal".[15]

Porter won Rostrum NSW "Speaker of the Year" in the 1986 competition.

References
  1. "Chester Porter interviewed by John Farquharson in the Law in Australian society oral history project... [nla.obj-217475479] | Digital Collection - National Library of Australia". nla.gov.au. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  2. "Who is the dancing man?". www.smh.com.au. Retrieved 2018-01-21.
  3. "Oral history project | NSW Bar Association". www.nswbar.asn.au. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
  4. "Chester Porter QC and Professor Neil Rees". www.abc.net.au. 2007-08-16. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  5. "Walking on water". The Sydney Morning Herlad. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  6. Blue Murder, Richard Roxburgh, Tony Martin, Steve Bastoni, retrieved 2018-01-20CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. Conversation with Richard Fidler - Podcast http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2007/09/14/2033218.htm
  8. Chester Porter, Justinian, On the Couch, 7 September 2007 http://justinianarchive.com/1055-article
  9. Bar Association Oral History - Chester Porter https://www.nswbar.asn.au/the-bar-association/oral-history#/chesterPorter
  10. "Chester Porter". Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  11. Bar News , Summer 2013-14, P74
  12. Rodney Parker QC (1936-2007), Bar News, Summer 2007 - 2008, P77
  13. Johnson, Susan (2008-12-16). "Obituary: Dorothy Porter". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  14. NSW Dickens Society https://dickenssydney.com/2016/10/25/jean-chester-porter-qc-awarded-the-percy-fitzgerald-award/ Archived 2018-02-06 at the Wayback Machine
  15. The Gentle Art of Persuasion - How to argue effectively, p XV
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