Edward Woodward attended Melbourne Grammar School before graduating from Melbourne University with a Master of Laws. He was appointed a Queen's Counsel at the age of 37 and served in various legal capacities including Supreme Court judge in the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. He handed down a range of judgements in Indigenous land rights cases and was involved in seventeen royal commissions and inquiries.
Woodward also headed the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and was chancellor of Melbourne University. In 2001, he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia for his contribution to public life and his voluntary work in the mental health field.
[Source: Peter Nicholson and Ross Nankivell, 'Judge Left a Remarkable Legacy', Age (28 April 2010): 21.]