Born in Seymour, Victoria, in 1909, John Minogue worked as a solicitor in Bendigo after graduating in law at the University of Melbourne. He became a barrister in 1939. He was a member of the part-time Melbourne University Rifles as a student and young lawyer, and joined the full-time armed forces in World War II. Minogue served as an army officer in Australia and New Guinea before joining the Australian military mission to the United States.
When he left the army in 1946, Minogue became a successful barrister specialising in criminal law. He became a Queen's Counsel in 1957, and was a member of the Victorian Bar Council from 1958 to 1962, when he was appointed Judge of the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea, and later Chief Justice from 1970 to 1974. Knighted to honour his legal career, Sir John was Victorian Law Reform Commissioner from 1977 until his retirement in 1982.
Sir John Minogue died in 1989. A bequest from his estate supports young Indigenous people in Victoria.
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