Samuel Way
Encyclopedia
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
-Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n jurist, was a Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
from 18 March 1876 until 8 January 1916 of the Supreme Court of South Australia
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...
, which is the highest ranking court
Australian court hierarchy
There are two streams within the hierarchy of Australian courts, the federal stream and the state and territory stream. While the federal courts and the court systems in each state and territory are separate, the High Court of Australia remains the ultimate court of appeal for the Australian...
in the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n State
States and territories of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories. The Australian mainland is made up of five states and three territories, with the sixth state of Tasmania being made up of islands. In addition there are six island territories, known as external territories, and a...
of 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...
.
Way was born in Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, in 1836. Reverend James Way, his father, was a clergyman in the Bible Christian Church
Bible Christian Church
The Bible Christian Church was a Methodist denomination founded by William O’Bryan, a Wesleyan Methodist local preacher, on 18 October 1815 in North Cornwall, with the first society, just 22 members, meeting at Lake Farm in Shebbear, Devon.-Early history:...
, who emigrated to Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, 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...
in 1850 along with his wife and four younger children to establish a mission
Mission (Christian)
Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...
. Samuel, the eldest child, remained behind, studying at Shebbear College
Shebbear College
Shebbear College is a co-educational Methodist public school located in Shebbear, Devon, 39 miles from the county seat of Exeter, in the South West region of the United Kingdom and is one of a group of independent boarding schools that form part of the Methodist Church's involvement in...
in Shebbear
Shebbear, England
Shebbear is a village and civil parish in the District of Torridge in Devon, England. It was once itself centre of the Shebbear hundred. It has a population of 858....
, a small village in North Devon
North Devon
North Devon is the northern part of the English county of Devon. It is also the name of a local government district in Devon. Its council is based in Barnstaple. Other towns and villages in the North Devon District include Braunton, Fremington, Ilfracombe, Instow, South Molton, Lynton and Lynmouth...
, and later at a school in Chatham
Chatham, Medway
Chatham is one of the Medway towns located within the Medway unitary authority, in North Kent, in South East England.Although the dockyard has long been closed and is now being redeveloped into a business and residential community as well as a museum featuring the famous submarine, HMS Ocelot,...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. The family left England at the end of 1852, to join the Reverend Way in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
in March 1853. On arriving in Australia, Way was soon employed in a solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
's office, and in 1856 became an articled clerk to a Mr Atkinson, another Adelaide solicitor.
On 25 March 1861, Way was admitted to the South Australian Bar
Bar council
A bar council , in a Commonwealth country and in the Republic of Ireland, the Bar Council of Ireland is a professional body that regulates the profession of barristers together with the King's Inns. Solicitors are generally regulated by the Law society....
to practice law, and when Atkinson died shortly afterwards, Way inherited his practice. Way practised as a 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...
and quickly became a leader among the legal community, and in 1868 joined a partnership with another barrister, a Mr Brook. In September 1871, Way was made a 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...
, despite having been admitted to the bar only ten years earlier. When Brook died in 1872, a young 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:...
joined Way as partner. Way continued to be highly successful, travelling to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to argue a number of cases before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is one of the highest courts in the United Kingdom. Established by the Judicial Committee Act 1833 to hear appeals formerly heard by the King in Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is one of the highest courts in the United...
. In 1874, Way was elected as a member of the council of the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
, and was also appointed to the South Australian Board of Education.
In 1875, Way was elected to 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 :...
as the member for Sturt, and on 3 June of that year joined the Boucaut government
James Boucaut
Sir James Penn Boucaut KCMG was an Australian judge and politician, Premier of South Australia three times: 1866–1867, 1875–1876 and 1877–1878.-Early life:...
as Attorney-General of South Australia
Attorney-General of South Australia
The Attorney-General of South Australia is the member of the Government of South Australia responsible for maintenance and improvement of South Australia's system of law and justice...
. He was only a politician for a short time, however, since in March 1876, at the age of just thirty-nine, he was appointed Chief Justice of South Australia
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...
following the death of Richard Hanson
Richard Hanson (Australian politician)
Sir Richard Davies Hanson , was the fourth Premier of South Australia, from 30 September 1857 until 8 May 1860, and was a Chief Judge from 20 November 1861 until 4 March 1876 on the Supreme Court of South Australia, which is the highest ranking court in the Australian State of South...
on 4 March. Since it is the role of the Attorney-General to recommend judicial candidates to the cabinet, it has been suggested that Way probably nominated himself to be Chief Justice. Way soon gained a reputation as an excellent lawyer, and it has been said that none of his decisions were ever successfully appealed to a higher court. Later in 1876 he was appointed as the vice-chancellor
Chancellor (education)
A chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....
of the University of Adelaide, and in 1883 became the chancellor
Chancellor
Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
, a position he would hold until his death.
In 1877, Way was called upon to act as acting Governor of South Australia. In January 1891 he was appointed to the position of Lieutenant-Governor of South Australia
Lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...
, a position subordinate to the state Governor. In January 1897, Way became the first Australian to be appointed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is one of the highest courts in the United Kingdom. Established by the Judicial Committee Act 1833 to hear appeals formerly heard by the King in Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is one of the highest courts in the United...
.
In 1898, he married Katherine Blue.
In 1899 he was awarded a baronetcy as 1st Baronet of Montefiore, South Australia. The baronetcy is now extinct.
Way became ill in 1914, and was diagnosed with cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
. He travelled to Sydney
Sydney
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 order to have his arm amputated
Amputation
Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma, prolonged constriction, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a preventative surgery for...
, in an attempt to delay the cancer, but it failed to prevent his health from deteriorating, although he continued to work as Chief Justice until December 1915. He died early the following year in North Adelaide.
The geological feature Mount Sir Samuel and the town of Sir Samuel
Sir Samuel, Western Australia
Sir Samuel is an abandoned town located between Leinster and Wiluna in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia.Gold was discovered in the area in 1895. Officials lobbied for a townsite to be created in 1896 following the realisation that the area was becoming an important mining centre...
in the Goldfields region of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
were named after him.