Born in Hobart to the Honorary William Ellis Cox, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Military Cross (d 1970) and Alice Mary Mulcahy Cox (d 1983), William John Ellis Cox was educated at Saint Virgil"s College, Hobart, Xavier College, Melbourne and the University of Tasmania. He graduated from the University of Tasmania (Bachelor, Bachelor of Laws) in 1960 and was admitted to the Bar, in the Supreme Court of Tasmania in March 1960.
He was appointed a magistrate in 1976, and became a Queen"s Counsel in 1978, during his term as the State"s Crown Advocate (equivalent to Director of Public Prosecutions). He was appointed to the Supreme Court of Tasmania in 1982, and was the state"s Chief Justice from 1995 until 2004. He was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Tasmania in 1996.
He already held the Reserve Force Decoration (Rural Free Delivery) and the Army"s Efficiency Decoration (Education) for service in the Royal Tasmania Regiment, including service in Vietnam.
Cox"s most high profile court case was that of Martin Bryant, who shot dead 35 people at Portuguese Arthur on 28 April 1996 and was brought before Cox for his trial six months later. Bryant admitted all 35 murders on 8 November 1996 and Cox sentenced him to life imprisonment fourteen days later, recommending that Bryant should stay in prison until he dies.
In August 2004, he became acting Governor upon the resignation of Richard Butler, and in November the Premier, Paul Lennon, announced that he had advised the Queen to appoint Cox as Governor of Tasmania. Cox is only the second Tasmanian-born Governor in the state"s history.
The first was Sir Guy Green.
During his term, Cox was the Honorary Colonel of the Royal Tasmania Regiment and Honorary Air Commodore of the Royal Australian Air Force Number. 29 (City of Hobart) Squadron. William Cox was succeeded as Governor on 2 April 2008 by Peter Underwood, Chief Justice of Tasmania.
