The Story Scholarship - John Douglas Story AO (1969)
John Story is a graduate of the Law School who became one of Australia’s leading corporate lawyers and company directors, before serving as Chancellor of the University of Queensland (2009-16). He was a key figure in supporting the physical and academic redevelopment of the Law School, which culminated in the reopening of the west wing of the Forgan Smith building in 2017. Story’s service to the University was recognised by the award of Doctor of Laws honoris causa and being named UQ Alumnus of the Year (2017).
John Douglas Story was born in Brisbane in 1945. His father, John Dunmore Campbell Story (1910-85), was senior partner of the Brisbane law firm of Chambers McNab & Co. His grandfather, John Douglas Story (1869-1966), was a senior public servant who had been instrumental in the establishment of the University of Queensland. He then served for many years as Vice-Chancellor of the University (1938-59). The JD Story Building at the University of Queensland and the Story Bridge in Brisbane are both named in his honour.
John Story was educated at Brisbane Grammar School, then graduated with Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees from the University of Queensland (1969). After his admission as a solicitor, he became a partner of the Brisbane firm of Chambers McNab & Co, and then a partner in the merged Brisbane firm of Chambers McNab Tully & Wilson (from 1981). He was instrumental in the merger of this local practice into the new national firm of Corrs Chambers Westgarth (1991), and was appointed as head of the national corporate advisory group and subsequently national chairman of partners. He retired from legal practice in 2006.
John Story served on a large number of public company boards, including Tabcorp (2004-11, Chairman 2007-11), Suncorp (1995- 2011, Chairman 2003-11) and CSR (2003-12). He also served as Chairman of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (2007-09). He has been aptly described as “one of the premier company directors of Australia for the last generation”.
In 2006, John Story was appointed to the Senate of the University. In 2009, he was appointed Chancellor of the University (2009-16). During this period, he was instrumental in supporting the decision to undertake a major renovation of the Law School in the Forgan Smith Building of the University and in the efforts to raise funds for the project.
In 2015, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia. In 2017, he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws honoris causa and named Alumnus of the Year. He remains an Adjunct Professor at the Law School. John and Georgina Story have three sons, all of whom are graduates of the Law School – John Story (1997), Thomas Story (1999) and William Story (2001).
Story Scholarship Recipients
2024 Renee McKeering
2023 Felipe Florit
2022 Minh Tran / Felipe Florit
2021 Samara Welbourne