The Supreme Court of Queensland on Tuesday started hearing the case in Cairns, about 40km south of the alleged crime scene in the state's far north.
Rajwinder Singh, a nurse from Innisfail, was charged in March 2023 with the murder of 24-year-old Ms Cordingley.
Singh formally entered a plea for the first time on Tuesday and said "not guilty" when asked how he pleaded to the charge of murdering Ms Cordingley on October 21, 2018.
The court took more than two-and-a-half hours to process a pool of hundreds of people to potentially serve as jurors.
Singh appeared with a beard and wearing a white turban and sat roughly in the middle of a dock built to hold up to six defendants at once.
The courtroom was full to overcapacity with potential jurors who listened to Singh be arraigned on the charge of murder and his plea.
Police accused Singh of fatally stabbing Ms Cordingley at Wangetti Beach, north of Cairns.
Ms Cordingley drove to the beach for a Sunday afternoon walk with her dog on October 21, 2018.
Her family raised the alarm later that evening when she didn't return.
Her body was found by her father and other searchers half-buried in an isolated section of sand dunes about 800m from her car, which was parked in a camping ground at the beach's southern end.
Her dog was found unharmed and tied to a tree.
Ms Cordingley, a pharmacy worker, was known within her hometown to be gentle, humble and loving.
Jury selection for the trial before Justice James Henry is expected to continue on Tuesday.
