Frederick Matthew Darley
Encyclopedia
Sir Frederick Matthew Darley GCMG
PC
(18 September 1830 – 4 January 1910) was the sixth Chief Justice of New South Wales
, an eminent barrister
, a member of the New South Wales Parliament, a Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales, and a member of the British Privy Council
.
, the first child of Henry Darley (son of Frederick Darley) of Wingfield, Bray, County Wicklow and his wife Maria Louisa Darley (née West, daughter of Matthew West of Dublin). Darley's father was a member of the Irish bar and according to Bennett, he was described by Lord St Leonards
as "not only the best officer in the Court of Chancery in Ireland, but the best officer he had ever come across".
Darley was educated at Dungannon College in County Tyrone
, Ireland where he had as a fellow student George Higinbotham
was who afterwards to become Chief Justice of Victoria
. Darley's uncle, the Reverend John Darley, was headmaster of the college.
In July 1847 Darley commenced studying at Trinity College, Dublin
, and he graduated in July 1851 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA). He was called to the English bar at the King's Inn in January 1853 but returned to Ireland and practised there for about nine years on the Munster
circuit. He met Sir Alfred Stephen
when Stephen was on a visit to Europe, and was told that there were good prospects for him in Australia. Darley married Lucy Forest Browne at Hunsdon, Hertfordshire, on 13 December 1860. Lucy was the sister of novelist Rolf Boldrewood (Thomas Alexander Browne
) who is best known for the book Robbery under arms. Darley and Lucy had two sons and four daughters. One of their daughters Frederica Silvia Darley married 1stly Sir Windham Robert Carmichael-Anstruther 9th Bt, and 2ndly the Hon. Major Algernon Henry Charles Hanbury-Tracey, their son became the 6th Baron Sudeley of Toddington.
in 1862. He was admitted to the NSW Bar on 2 June 1862 and was later appointed a Queens Counsel (QC) in 1878. Biographer Percival Serle
states that Darley had established a good practice, and that for the twenty years preceding his elevation to the bench, there was hardly an important case at Sydney in which he did not appear on one side or the other. Biographer John Bennett
, on the other hand, states that Darley found his early years tiring and not particularly well remunerated, and that it was Darley's zeal rather than his legal skills that brought him to attention.
In September 1868 he was nominated to the New South Wales Legislative Council
. Serle states that he was a constant and conscientious attendant at its debates. In November 1881 he became vice-president of the executive council in the third Henry Parkes
ministry. Bennett states that in parliament Darley introduced "an equity act, a divorce act, which gave to the wife the same rights as those of the husband, and the act authorizing marriage with a deceased wife's sister". In November 1886 Darley was offered the position of Chief Justice of New South Wales
in succession to Sir James Martin
. He did not desire the office and to accept it would have meant a considerable monetary sacrifice. As a barrister, he was probably earning more than twice the amount of the salary offered. Darley declined the position and it was accepted by Julian Salomons
who subsequently resigned a few days later.
spoke of him "as in many respects the noblest figure we have ever had on the Australian bench".
On the retirement of Sir Alfred Stephen at the end of 1891, Darley was appointed Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales
. He administered the government seven times in that capacity. When the position of governor of New South Wales became vacant in 1901, Serle notes that there were many suggestions that Darley should be given the post, but the post was given to Sir Harry Rawson
.
Darley's longest term as lieutenant-governor was from 1 November 1900 to 27 May 1902, a significant period in Australia's political history with the lead up to and the aftermath of federation of the then Australian colonies. Unfortunately, his anxiety for New South Wales's supremacy may have contributed to the 'Hopetoun Blunder
'. Accordingly to Bennett, Darley's private assessment in 1902 was that 'Australian Federation is so far a pronounced failure'.
ed in 1887, created KCMG
in 1897 and GCMG in 1901. He was also appointed a member of the privy council in 1905. He died in London on 4 January 1910.
Darley Road at Randwick
, Sydney was renamed from Boundary Street in honour of Darley.
Darley lived at Quambi, Albert Street, Woollahra and had a mountain retreat "Lilianfels" in Katoomba. This retreat is now a hotel, and "Quambi" was demolished in the 1930s to become Quambi Place.
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
PC
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
(18 September 1830 – 4 January 1910) was the sixth Chief Justice of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, an eminent barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
, a member of the New South Wales Parliament, a Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales, and a member of the British Privy Council
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
.
Early years
Darley was born in IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, the first child of Henry Darley (son of Frederick Darley) of Wingfield, Bray, County Wicklow and his wife Maria Louisa Darley (née West, daughter of Matthew West of Dublin). Darley's father was a member of the Irish bar and according to Bennett, he was described by Lord St Leonards
Edward Sugden, 1st Baron St Leonards
Edward Burtenshaw Sugden, 1st Baron St Leonards PC was a British lawyer, judge and Conservative politician.-Background:St Leonards was the son of a high-class hairdresser and wig-maker in Westminster, London....
as "not only the best officer in the Court of Chancery in Ireland, but the best officer he had ever come across".
Darley was educated at Dungannon College in County Tyrone
County Tyrone
Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...
, Ireland where he had as a fellow student George Higinbotham
George Higinbotham
George Higinbotham was a politician and was a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria, which is the highest ranking court in the Australian State of Victoria.-Early life:...
was who afterwards to become Chief Justice of Victoria
Chief Justice of Victoria
The Chief Justice of Victoria is the senior judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria and the highest ranking judicial officer in the Australian state of Victoria. The Chief Justice is both the judicial head of the Supreme Court as well as the administrative head...
. Darley's uncle, the Reverend John Darley, was headmaster of the college.
In July 1847 Darley commenced studying at Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
, and he graduated in July 1851 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA). He was called to the English bar at the King's Inn in January 1853 but returned to Ireland and practised there for about nine years on the Munster
Munster
Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...
circuit. He met Sir Alfred Stephen
Alfred Stephen
Sir Alfred Stephen was an Australian judge and chief justice of New South Wales.Stephen was born at St Christopher in the West Indies. His father, John Stephen , was related to Henry John Stephen, Sir James Stephen and Sir James FitzJames Stephen, all men of great distinction in England...
when Stephen was on a visit to Europe, and was told that there were good prospects for him in Australia. Darley married Lucy Forest Browne at Hunsdon, Hertfordshire, on 13 December 1860. Lucy was the sister of novelist Rolf Boldrewood (Thomas Alexander Browne
Thomas Alexander Browne
Thomas Alexander Browne was an Australian writer, who sometimes published under the pseudonym Rolf Boldrewood and best known for his novel Robbery Under Arms.-Biography:...
) who is best known for the book Robbery under arms. Darley and Lucy had two sons and four daughters. One of their daughters Frederica Silvia Darley married 1stly Sir Windham Robert Carmichael-Anstruther 9th Bt, and 2ndly the Hon. Major Algernon Henry Charles Hanbury-Tracey, their son became the 6th Baron Sudeley of Toddington.
Emigration to Australia
Darley decided to emigrate to Australia and arrived in SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in 1862. He was admitted to the NSW Bar on 2 June 1862 and was later appointed a Queens Counsel (QC) in 1878. Biographer Percival Serle
Percival Serle
Percival Serle was an Australian biographer and bibliographer.Serle was born in Victoria and for many years worked in a life assurance office before becoming chief clerk and accountant at the University of Melbourne...
states that Darley had established a good practice, and that for the twenty years preceding his elevation to the bench, there was hardly an important case at Sydney in which he did not appear on one side or the other. Biographer John Bennett
John Tuson Bennett
John Tucson Bennett is a solicitor and president of the Australian Civil Liberties Union, who is most notable for being a leader in the Holocaust denial movement in Australia....
, on the other hand, states that Darley found his early years tiring and not particularly well remunerated, and that it was Darley's zeal rather than his legal skills that brought him to attention.
In September 1868 he was nominated to the New South Wales Legislative Council
New South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of New South Wales in Australia. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. The Assembly is referred to as the lower house and the Council as...
. Serle states that he was a constant and conscientious attendant at its debates. In November 1881 he became vice-president of the executive council in the third Henry Parkes
Henry Parkes
Sir Henry Parkes, GCMG was an Australian statesman, the "Father of Federation." As the earliest advocate of a Federal Council of the colonies of Australia, a precursor to the Federation of Australia, he was the most prominent of the Australian Founding Fathers.Parkes was described during his...
ministry. Bennett states that in parliament Darley introduced "an equity act, a divorce act, which gave to the wife the same rights as those of the husband, and the act authorizing marriage with a deceased wife's sister". In November 1886 Darley was offered the position of Chief Justice of New South Wales
Chief Justice of New South Wales
The Chief Justice of New South Wales is the senior judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the highest ranking judicial officer in the Australian state of New South Wales. The Chief Justice is both the judicial head of the Supreme Court as well as the administrative head...
in succession to Sir James Martin
James Martin (Australian politician)
Sir James Martin, KCB, QC was three times Premier of New South Wales, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales from 1873 to 1886.-Early career:...
. He did not desire the office and to accept it would have meant a considerable monetary sacrifice. As a barrister, he was probably earning more than twice the amount of the salary offered. Darley declined the position and it was accepted by Julian Salomons
Julian Salomons
The Honourable Sir Julian Emanuel Salomons was a barrister, royal commissioner, solicitor-general, chief justice and member of parliament. He was the only chief justice in New South Wales to be appointed and resign before he was ever sworn into office...
who subsequently resigned a few days later.
Appointment as chief justice
Darley was again approached, and this time he accepted it. He was sworn in on 7 December 1886. He carried out his duties with great distinction, although Bennett notes that Darley was not an exceptional jurist. Sir Samuel WaySamuel Way
Sir Samuel James Way, 1st Baronet , English-Australian jurist, was a Chief Justice from 18 March 1876 until 8 January 1916 of the Supreme Court of South Australia, which is the highest ranking court in the Australian State of South Australia.Way was born in Portsmouth, England, in 1836...
spoke of him "as in many respects the noblest figure we have ever had on the Australian bench".
On the retirement of Sir Alfred Stephen at the end of 1891, Darley was appointed Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales
Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales
The Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales is a government position in the state of New South Wales, Australia, acting as a deputy to the Governor of New South Wales....
. He administered the government seven times in that capacity. When the position of governor of New South Wales became vacant in 1901, Serle notes that there were many suggestions that Darley should be given the post, but the post was given to Sir Harry Rawson
Harry Rawson
Admiral Sir Harry Holdsworth Rawson, GCB, GCMG RN , is chiefly remembered for overseeing the British Benin Expedition of 1897 that burned and looted the city of the Kingdom of Benin, now in Nigeria...
.
Darley's longest term as lieutenant-governor was from 1 November 1900 to 27 May 1902, a significant period in Australia's political history with the lead up to and the aftermath of federation of the then Australian colonies. Unfortunately, his anxiety for New South Wales's supremacy may have contributed to the 'Hopetoun Blunder
Hopetoun Blunder
The Hopetoun Blunder was a political event immediately prior to the Federation of the British colonies in Australia.Federation was scheduled to occur on 1 January 1901, but since the general election for the first Parliament of Australia was not to be held until March of that year, it was not...
'. Accordingly to Bennett, Darley's private assessment in 1902 was that 'Australian Federation is so far a pronounced failure'.
Later years
He visited England in 1902 and was appointed a member of the royal commission on the South African war. Darley was knightKnight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
ed in 1887, created KCMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
in 1897 and GCMG in 1901. He was also appointed a member of the privy council in 1905. He died in London on 4 January 1910.
Trivia
Mary McCarron Maguire composed the "Katoomba Waltz" in honour of Darley and Lady Darley.Darley Road at Randwick
Randwick, New South Wales
Randwick is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Randwick is located 6 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Randwick...
, Sydney was renamed from Boundary Street in honour of Darley.
Darley lived at Quambi, Albert Street, Woollahra and had a mountain retreat "Lilianfels" in Katoomba. This retreat is now a hotel, and "Quambi" was demolished in the 1930s to become Quambi Place.
Sources
- J Bennett, 'Darley, Frederick Matthew (1830 - 1910)', Australian Dictionary of BiographyAustralian Dictionary of BiographyThe Australian Dictionary of Biography is a national, co-operative enterprise, founded and maintained by the Australian National University to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's history....
, Volume 4, MUP, 1972, pp 17–19 - Alex CastlesAlex CastlesAlexander "Alex" Cuthbert Castles was an Australian historian and author who specialized in Australian legal history. He is the author of a number of published books in Australia as well as the author of numerous articles written for various journals.Castles was born in Melbourne, Australia...
, A Legal History of Australia, Law Book Co, 1975.