John Young

Who was John Young?

Sir John McIntosh Young AC KCMG was an Australian jurist. He was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria 1974–91, the Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria 1974–95, and the Chief Scout of Australia 1989–96.

John Young was born in Melbourne to Scottish immigrant parents. He went to Geelong Grammar School, and then to Oxford. On the day after World War II broke out in September 1939 he joined the Horse Cavalry, then after officer training at Sandhurst he asked to be transferred to the Scots Guards. He was mentioned in despatches after heavy fighting in Germany. He was the officer in charge of Rudolf Hess’s guards when Hess tried to escape in 1941 at Camp Z in Surrey.

On return to Australia, he did a law degree at the University of Melbourne, and was admitted to the Victorian Bar in 1949. He was chairman of the Victorian Police Board, president of the Victorian Law Foundation, and president of the Victorian Bar. He became Chief Justice of Victoria in 1974, and was also appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria that year. As Chief Justice, he was not afraid to speak out against the government of the day.

He had a long association with the Scouting movement, and he accepted the role of Chief Scout of Australia in 1989, when the newly appointed Governor-General Bill Hayden declined it on the grounds that the Scout Oath was incompatible with his atheism. In 1996–97 he was National President of Scouts Australia.