Paris Nesbit
Encyclopedia
Paris Nesbit, QC
(8 August 1852 – 31 March 1927), born Edward Pariss Nesbit, was an Australian lawyer.
Nesbit was born at Angaston
in South Australia
to schoolmaster Edward Planta Nesbit and Ann, née Pariss. He was a cousin of the English writer Edith Nesbit. His mother died when he was two. Something of a child prodigy
, by the age of ten Nesbit could speak German
, French
and Latin
, and had translated the works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
and Friedrich Schiller
into English. He attended Rev. Gustav Rechner's school at Light's Pass and Martin Basedow's grammar school at Tanunda
, topping the scholarship examinations for South Australia; he also studied music with Carl Linger
. In 1868, having worked briefly in a bank, he was articled as a clerk to Rupert Ingleby, QC
. He formed the Articled Clerks' Debating Society with Charles Kingston
and edited the organisation's journals; his political views developed in a progressive
vein.
Nesbit was called to the Bar in 1873 and embarked on a successful career in the courts. He married Ellen Logue on 9 December 1874 at St Paul's Anglican Church in Adelaide. He drafted a number of parliamentary laws in the 1880s, and was appointed Queen's Counsel
in 1893. In 1896 he formally changed his name to "Paris Nesbit"; he was widely acknowledged joint leader of the Bar with Josiah Symon
. He had run without success for the South Australian House of Assembly
in 1884, and later became a strong supporter of Federation.
Nesbit's career was dogged by scandal, the first of which broke in 1885 when he was arrested for wilful trespass in Melbourne
, apparently pursuing a lady who spurned him. He spent a week in Melbourne Gaol
before being sent to Kew Lunatic Asylum
, having been certified a lunatic. After several months he was released and sent back to South Australia, but on the steamer back to Adelaide he jumped overboard and swam back to Melbourne, where he was returned to the asylum. He began to acquire something of a reputation and was described in Adelaide gossip as an "absinthe
-drinking, woman-loving, tobacco-enslaved ... Prince of Bohemia". He was confined again in 1896 in Adelaide Lunatic Asylum, running in 1896 for the House of Assembly once more without success. He was now a firm opponent of Kingston.
In Parkside Asylum from January to July 1898, the Kingston government illegally imposed a detention order to avoid his release but was overruled by the Supreme Court
. After his release he published The Beaten Side, a tract against Darwinism
, and in 1900 he launched Morning (renamed Morning Star in 1902), a weekly publication that championed Nesbit's causes. He contested Labor
preselection for the 1906 federal election but was defeated, resigned from the Labor Party and defected to the Liberal Union
, which he helped organise. The Liberals' views proved incompatible with his own, however, and at the 1910 election
he contested Boothby
as an independent
.
In 1915 he was confined again, briefly. After his estranged wife's death on 16 February 1921, he married his long-time mistress, actress and divorcee Cecilia Elizabeth Hughes, on 22 February. Nesbit died in 1927 of a perforated duodenal ulcer.
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
(8 August 1852 – 31 March 1927), born Edward Pariss Nesbit, was an Australian lawyer.
Nesbit was born at Angaston
Angaston, South Australia
Angaston is a town in the Barossa Valley, South Australia, 77 km north east of Adelaide. Its elevation is 347 m, one of the highest points in the valley, and has an average rainfall of 561 mm...
in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
to schoolmaster Edward Planta Nesbit and Ann, née Pariss. He was a cousin of the English writer Edith Nesbit. His mother died when he was two. Something of a child prodigy
Child prodigy
A child prodigy is someone who, at an early age, masters one or more skills far beyond his or her level of maturity. One criterion for classifying prodigies is: a prodigy is a child, typically younger than 18 years old, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding...
, by the age of ten Nesbit could speak German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, and had translated the works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
and Friedrich Schiller
Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...
into English. He attended Rev. Gustav Rechner's school at Light's Pass and Martin Basedow's grammar school at Tanunda
Tanunda, South Australia
Tanunda is a town situated in the Barossa Valley region of South Australia, 70 kilometres north east of the state capital, Adelaide. The town derives its name from an Aboriginal word meaning water hole. Town population is approximately 3500.-Settlement:...
, topping the scholarship examinations for South Australia; he also studied music with Carl Linger
Carl Linger
Carl Linger was a German Australian composer who wrote the "Song of Australia". For his song he received a price of ten guineas.German-born intellectual Carl Linger, who had studied at the Institute of Music in Berlin, came to South Australia in 1849 on the Princess Luise. He settled in Gawler,...
. In 1868, having worked briefly in a bank, he was articled as a clerk to Rupert Ingleby, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
. He formed the Articled Clerks' Debating Society with Charles Kingston
Charles Kingston
Charles Cameron Kingston, Australian politician, was an early liberal Premier of South Australia serving from 1893 to 1899 with the support of Labor led by John McPherson from 1893 and Lee Batchelor from 1897 in the House of Assembly, winning the 1893, 1896, and 1899 state elections against the...
and edited the organisation's journals; his political views developed in a progressive
Progressive
Progressive is an adjectival form of progress and may refer to:-Politics:* Progressivism, a political ideology* Progressive Era, a period of reform in the United States Progressive is an adjectival form of progress and may refer to:-Politics:* Progressivism, a political ideology* Progressive Era, a...
vein.
Nesbit was called to the Bar in 1873 and embarked on a successful career in the courts. He married Ellen Logue on 9 December 1874 at St Paul's Anglican Church in Adelaide. He drafted a number of parliamentary laws in the 1880s, and was appointed Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
in 1893. In 1896 he formally changed his name to "Paris Nesbit"; he was widely acknowledged joint leader of the Bar with Josiah Symon
Josiah Symon
Hon Sir Josiah Henry Symon KCMG , Scottish-Australian lawyer and politician, was a member of the Australian Senate in the First Australian Parliament, and an Attorney-General of Australia.-Biography:...
. He had run without success for the South Australian House of Assembly
South Australian House of Assembly
The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide.- Overview :...
in 1884, and later became a strong supporter of Federation.
Nesbit's career was dogged by scandal, the first of which broke in 1885 when he was arrested for wilful trespass in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, apparently pursuing a lady who spurned him. He spent a week in Melbourne Gaol
Melbourne Gaol
The Old Melbourne Gaol is a museum and former prison located in Russell Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It consists of a bluestone building and courtyard, and is located next to the old City Police Watch House and City Courts buildings...
before being sent to Kew Lunatic Asylum
Kew Asylum
Kew Lunatic Asylum is a decommissioned psychiatric hospital located between Princess Street and Yarra Boulevard in Kew, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Operational from 1871 to 1988, Kew was one of the largest asylums ever built in Australia. Later known as Willsmere, the complex of buildings...
, having been certified a lunatic. After several months he was released and sent back to South Australia, but on the steamer back to Adelaide he jumped overboard and swam back to Melbourne, where he was returned to the asylum. He began to acquire something of a reputation and was described in Adelaide gossip as an "absinthe
Absinthe
Absinthe is historically described as a distilled, highly alcoholic beverage. It is an anise-flavoured spirit derived from herbs, including the flowers and leaves of the herb Artemisia absinthium, commonly referred to as "grande wormwood", together with green anise and sweet fennel...
-drinking, woman-loving, tobacco-enslaved ... Prince of Bohemia". He was confined again in 1896 in Adelaide Lunatic Asylum, running in 1896 for the House of Assembly once more without success. He was now a firm opponent of Kingston.
In Parkside Asylum from January to July 1898, the Kingston government illegally imposed a detention order to avoid his release but was overruled by the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of South Australia
The Supreme Court of South Australia is the superior court for the Australian State of South Australia. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. The Supreme Court is the highest South Australian court in the Australian court...
. After his release he published The Beaten Side, a tract against Darwinism
Darwinism
Darwinism is a set of movements and concepts related to ideas of transmutation of species or of evolution, including some ideas with no connection to the work of Charles Darwin....
, and in 1900 he launched Morning (renamed Morning Star in 1902), a weekly publication that championed Nesbit's causes. He contested Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
preselection for the 1906 federal election but was defeated, resigned from the Labor Party and defected to the Liberal Union
Liberal Union (Australia)
The Liberal Union was a political party resulting from a merger between the Liberal and Democratic Union and the conservatives in South Australia. It lasted from 1910 to 1922 when it became the Liberal Federation....
, which he helped organise. The Liberals' views proved incompatible with his own, however, and at the 1910 election
Australian federal election, 1910
Federal elections were held in Australia on 13 April 1910. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election...
he contested Boothby
Division of Boothby
The Division of Boothby is an Australian Electoral Division in South Australia. The division was created in 1903 and is named after William Boothby , the Returning Officer for the first election of Members of the House of Representatives in 1901....
as an independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
.
In 1915 he was confined again, briefly. After his estranged wife's death on 16 February 1921, he married his long-time mistress, actress and divorcee Cecilia Elizabeth Hughes, on 22 February. Nesbit died in 1927 of a perforated duodenal ulcer.