Born in Scotland, John Lawrence grew up in Edinburgh with his elder sister in the housing projects.
His father was a carpenter working in shipyards and who decided that he wanted his son to grow up to be a lawyer. So he took a second job to earn extra money to send John to a private school.
After finishing high school John went to University of Strathclyde in Glasgow and fulfilled his father’s wish to become a lawyer.
A friend then beckoned him to come to Australia and so John landed in Sydney on 17 August 1980, the day Azaria Chamberlain went missing. Little did John know that he’d end up working in the Royal Commission into the Chamberlain case.
John went on to work for Aboriginal Legal Aid and finally the independent bar in 1997. He took silk in 2010. John is actively involved in social justice issues.
This is John’s Territory Story.
