Judiciary

Early Judiciary buried in Toowong Cemetery

Use the Toowong Cemetery map to help you visit the graves in this story.

His Honour Judge William Paul (5‑32‑8)

Born in Penrith NSW on 2 June 1839 to George Paul and Sarah Dalton. George Paul Jnr was called to the Bar in London at the age of 22. He later established a successful private practice in Brisbane before taking up the position of Crown Prosecutor of the Western District Court in 1866. In 1871 he was appointed first acting judge of the District Courts before being elevated permanently to the Metropolitan District Court in 1871, a position which he held until his death on 10 December 1909.

Portrait of Judge George William Paul, 1874 - State Library of Queensland.

The Honourable Virgil Power (7A‑103‑24)

Born in Brisbane 2 August 1849 to Michael Power and Anna Marie Connolly. Virgil Power was admitted as a barrister in London and Dublin prior to his admission as a barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1875. He served as Crown Prosecutor for the Northern District of the Supreme Court, the Southern District Court and the Southern District of the Supreme Court before his appointment as the first Queensland-born Judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1895. Appointed first Judge of the Central Court based in Rockhampton, he served there until his retirement in 1910. He died at Southport on 2 June 1914.

The Honourable Patrick Real (7A‑153‑7)

Born Pallasgreen, near Limerick Ireland on 17 March 1846 or 1847 to James Real and Ellen Donegan. The family migrated to Moreton Bay on the typhus-plagued voyage of the Emigrant in 1850 with his father dying from the disease. Young Patrick left school at the age of 12 to commence a carpentry apprenticeship to support his family and was employed at the Ipswich railway workshops before leaving his trade at the age of 22 to study law. Following a distinguished career as a barrister, he was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1890 and Senior Puisne Judge in 1903. He died at his home Eulalia at Norman Park on 10 June 1928.

Honorable Judge Patrick Real - State Library of Queensland.

The Honourable George Rogers Harding (1‑82‑15)

Born Taunton. Somerset England on 3 December 1838 to Rev. George Rogers Harding and Elizabeth Winter. In 1861 he was admitted as a barrister at Lincoln's Inn, London. With his wife, Elizabeth and family he migrated to Brisbane where he was admitted as a barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1866. In July 1879 he became Senior Puisne Judge. Many books held in the Queensland Supreme Court Library today were collected when he was chairman of the Library Committee. He died in his chambers on 31 August 1895.

Justice George Rogers Harding, 1879 - State Library of Queensland.

William Henry Abbot Hirst (1‑10‑17)

Born Sydney on 21 February 1837 to William Hirst and Elizabeth Abbott. William Hirst was admitted as a barrister in NSW in 1861 and in Queensland the same year. He served as Police Magistrate, and later as Crown Prosecutor in the Northern District and Metropolitan District Courts before his appointment as a District Court Judge in 1869 serving the Northern District Court, based in Bowen until he replaced Ratcliffe Pring in the Central District Court in 1876. He was dismissed from office on 3 January 1878 because of misconduct and died on 26 May that year.

William Henry Abbott Hirst - State Library of Queensland.

Sir Pope Alexander Cooper (13‑37‑1)

Born Lake George, NSW on 12 May 1846 to Francis Cooper and Sarah Jenkins. He undertook his legal studies in London before bringing his wife and family to Brisbane where he was admitted as a barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1874. After a period in private practice, he became Northern Crown Prosecutor then entered politics as MLA for Bowen, serving as Attorney-General 1881-83. In January 1883 he was appointed a Judge of the Queensland Supreme Court, the youngest and first Australian-born judge of that court. In 1903 he became the fourth Chief Justice of Queensland. He died on 30 August 1923.

Portrait of Honourable Sir Pope Alexander Cooper - State Library of Queensland.

Sir Arthur Rutledge KC (13‑49‑15)

Born Penrith, NSW on 29 August 1843 to James Rutledge and Lucy Field. Arthur Rutledge was a Wesleyan clergyman before he left the ministry to study law. He was admitted to the Queensland Bar in 1878 and the same year became the MLA for Enoggera. After periods alternating between the Bar and politics when he served three times as Attorney-General, Rutledge was appointed QC in 1899 and knighted in 1902. He was appointed a Judge of the District Court in 1906 and held that position until his death in Sydney on 8 February 1917.

Portrait of the Honourable Sir Arthur Rutledge - State Library of Queensland.

The Honourable Ratcliffe Pring QC (13‑75‑9)

Born in Crediton Devon England on 17 October 1825 to Thomas Pring and Ann Dunne. Ratcliffe Pring studied law in England, being admitted as a barrister in London in 1849. With his wife, Frances he migrated to NSW in 1853. In 1857 he was appointed first Crown Prosecutor for the Supreme Court in Moreton Bay. Elected to Queensland's first Legislative Assembly in 1860, he became Attorney-General, a position which he held in successive governments. He was appointed QC in 1868. In 1875 he was appointed a Judge of the Central District Court but resigned and returned to private practice. He became a Judge of the Queensland Supreme Court in 1880. He died in office on 25 March 1885.

The Honourable Charles Stuart Mein (12‑11‑13)

Born in Maitland NSW on 14 June 1841 to John Stuart Mein and Mary Hall. Charles Mein was articled to Arthur Macalister in Brisbane prior to his admission as a solicitor of the Queensland Supreme Court in 1870. He was appointed to the Queensland Legislative Council in 1876, serving two periods as postmaster-general. On 17 April 1885, he was the first solicitor to be appointed a Judge of the Queensland Supreme Court, succeeding Mr Justice Pring. He died in office while visiting Sydney on 30 June 1890.

Sir Samuel Walker Griffith GCMG QC (12‑11‑6/7)

Born Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorganshire, Wales on 21 June 1845 to Rev. Edward Griffith and Mary Walker. Griffith was articled to Arthur Macalister in Ipswich and admitted as a barrister of the Queensland Supreme Court in 1867. He was elected to Queensland Legislative Assembly in 1872, serving as Attorney-General and Premier and combined politics with his work as a barrister until 1893 when he was appointed a Judge of the Queensland Supreme Court and third Chief Justice of Queensland. He was appointed QC in 1876. In 1903 he became the first Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia. He retired in 1919 and died on 9 August 1920 at New Farm.

Sir Charles Lilley QC (12‑15‑15)

Born Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland England on 27 August 1827 to Thomas Lilley and Jane Shipley. Charles Lilley began studying law in England before settling in Moreton Bay in 1856 and undertaking further articles to Robert Little. In 1858 he was the first solicitor admitted to practice by the Supreme Court at Moreton Bay. In 1860 he was elected to Queensland's first Legislative Assembly where he served for the next 14 years. He was admitted to the Bar in 1861, becoming the colony's first QC in 1865. In 1874 he was appointed a Judge of the Queensland Supreme Court and became Queensland's second Chief Justice in 1879. He died on 20 August 1897, four years after retiring.

Sir Charles Lilley, 1879 - State Library of Queensland.

The Honourable John Laskey Woolcock BA (11‑65‑2)

Born Cornwall, England on 7 November 1861 to Rev William Woolcock and Elizabeth White. Woolcock commenced his legal studies while reading in Griffith's chambers and was admitted as a barrister of Queensland Supreme Court in 1887. He was appointed a Judge of the Queensland Supreme Court in 1927 and died in office less than two years later on 18 January 1929.

Judge John Laskey Woolcock - State Library of Queensland.

The Honourable Charles Stumm KC (18‑111‑2)

Born Toowoomba, Queensland on 10 May 1865 to Charles Stumm and Isabella Streich. Formerly a schoolteacher, Charles Stumm commenced his legal training under articles at Browne & Ruthning Solicitors and was admitted as a solicitor of the Queensland Supreme Court in 1889. He was admitted as a barrister in 1894 and appointed King's Counsel in 1910. In 1929 he was appointed a Judge of the Queensland Supreme Court but died tragically three weeks later on 28 February 1929.

Judge Charles Stumm - State Library of Queensland.

Acknowledgements

Compiled and presented by Lyn and Darcy Maddock

Sources

Sir Harry Gibbs - Legal Heritage Centre
National Archives of Australia - Commonwealth of Australia
Family History Research - The State of Queensland
Trove - National Library of Australia
Australian Dictionary of Biography - Australian National University
The Prosecution Project - Queensland Courts