William à Beckett

Sir William à Beckett (28 July 1806 – 27 June 1869) was the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria, which is the highest ranking court in the Australian State of Victoria.

à Beckett was born in London, England the eldest son of William à Beckett who was also a solicitor. He was the elder brother of Gilbert Abbott à Beckett, (1811-1856) one of the original staff of Punch magazine and the author of 'Comic History of England'. Sir William was the older brother of Thomas Turner à Beckett (13 September 1808-1 July 1892)

He was educated at the Westminster School, and initially wanted to be a poet, publishing a youthful volume of verse, The Siege of Dumbarton Castle, in 1824. However he could not earn enough money to support his family, and so he decided to become a barrister. In 1829 he was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn.

In 1837, à Beckett migrated to New South Wales and edited the 'Literary News' which was a short-lived newspaper

For New South Wales he was appointed acting solicitor-general for the colony in March 1841, and solicitor-general in March 1843. In July 1844 he was appointed an acting judge, and was made a full puisne judge.

In January 1846 he was appointed to the Court of the Resident Judge, the branch of the Supreme Court of New South Wales in Melbourne and sat as primary judge in equity.

Melbourne is the capital city of Victoria, at this time Victoria was called 'Port Philip District'. When the separate colony of Victoria was proclaimed he became its first Chief Justice established in January 1852.

Later that year (1846) he was knighted as a Kt. Bach. (Knight Bachelor).

Politically conservative, à Beckett was strongly opposed to the social disruption caused by the Victorian Gold Rush and under the pseudonym 'Colonus' espoused his views in an influential pamphlet somewhat cumbersomely entitled Does the Discovery of Gold in Victoria Viewed in Relation to its Moral and Social Effects as Hitherto Developed Deserve to be Considered a National Blessing or a National Curse? late in 1852. He presided over a number of important trials including the robbers of gold from the barque Nelson in Hobson's Bay in 1852, but growing disillusion with the state of society in Victoria saw him leave for England with his family in February 1853. He returned to Melbourne in December 1854 in time to participate in the Eureka Stockade trials - although often accused of the inflammatory comments at the trial of the arsonists of the Eureka Hotel that sparked the Eureka uprising, it was the Acting Chief Justice Redmond Barry who was actually responsible.

à Beckett retired as Chief Justice in 1857 due to poor health, and in 1863 he returned to England.

He died in London on 27 June 1869 and was buried in West Norwood Cemetery. He was married twice and was survived by four sons from the second marriage. Married firstly Emily Hayley in 1832, she died 1 June 1841. Married secondly Matilda Hayley, her sister, in 1849, they had 13 children possibly, maybe some were from Emily though we have no information on this. He wrote a number of books, including several volumes of his poetry, and a manual for magistrates of the Court of Petty Sessions, the predecessor of the Magistrates Court of Victoria.

à Beckett's son, William Arthur Callendar à Beckett, (1833-1901) married Emma Mills (1838-1906), the daughter of a convict who later founded a brewery in Melbourne. Their daughter Emma Minnie, a successful painter, married another painter Arthur Merric Boyd, to found the artistic Boyd dynasty. A nephew who was the son of his brother Thomas Turner à Beckett Thomas à Beckett, was also a puisne judge in Australia.

References

• E. G. Coppel, 'à Beckett, Sir William (1806 - 1869)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 3, MUP, 1969, pp 10-11. accessed 2008-01-13

Serle, Percival (1949). "à Beckett, Sir William". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson.

• Bennett, J. M., Sir William à Beckett: First Chief Justice of Victoria, 1852-57, Sydney, The Federation Press, 2001, ISBN 1862874093
• Peter Balmford "A'Beckett, Sir William (1806–1869)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press 2004, http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/28, accessed 24 November 2006 (subscription required)
• Australian Encyclopædia (1912 - third edition revised 1927) published by Angus & Robertson Limited, 89 Castlereagh Street, Sydney New South Wales (page 2)

See also

• Judiciary of Australia
• List of Judges of the Supreme Court of Victoria

External links

• Review of biography
• Supreme Court of Victoria Website