Minister of Justice and Public Instruction (New South Wales)

The Minister of Justice and Public Instruction was a ministry in the colonial administration of New South Wales, established in 1873 in the first ministry of Henry Parkes.[1]

Minister of Justice and Public Instruction of New South Wales
AppointerGovernor of New South Wales
Formation9 December 1873
First holderGeorge Allen
Final holderFrancis Suttor
Abolished30 April 1880
SuccessionMinister of Justice
Minister for Public Instruction

Role and responsibilities

Prior to 1873 there were two legal officers in the ministry, Attorney General and the Solicitor General, however there was only one portfolio, the law officers of the crown. The Attorney was the senior law officer and responsible for the work of the Solicitor-General, Crown Solicitors, parliamentary draftsmen, the administration of the courts and supporting officers such as the Sheriff and Coroner. The Solicitor General represented the crown in court,[lower-alpha 1] provided legal advice to the government, drafted bills and helped to prepare civil and criminal litigation.[4]

When the Attorney General Edward Butler resigned, the Solicitor General Joseph Innes was promoted to first law officer. Innes was not however replaced as Solicitor General. Instead Parkes created the new ministry of justice and public instruction. The minister assumed responsibility for the administration of the courts, sheriff and coroner, as well as the Council of Education, orphan schools, the public library, Australian Museum and observatory.[5] The first minister George Allen, was a solicitor.[6]

Prisons remained the responsibility of the Colonial Secretary.[7] In 1859 the ministry was split into the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Public Instruction.[5]

List of Ministers of Justice and Public Instruction
Minister [1]TitleTerm startTerm endTime in officeNotes
George Allen MLA Minister of Justice and Public Instruction 9 December 1873 8 February 1875 1 year, 61 days [6]
Joseph Docker MLC 9 February 1875 21 March 1877 2 years, 40 days [8]
Francis Suttor MLA 22 March 1877 16 August 1877 147 days [9]
John Lackey MLA 17 August 1877 17 December 1877 122 days [10]
Joseph Leary MLA 18 December 1877 20 December 1878 1 year, 2 days [11]
Francis Suttor 21 December 1878 30 April 1880 1 year, 131 days [9]

Notes
  1. For example the Solicitor General prosecuted the bushrangers the Clarke brothers in 1867,[2] and appeared with the Attorney General in a motion before the full court for a new trial.[3]

References
  1. "Part 6 Ministries since 1856" (PDF). NSW Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  2. "Central criminal court: wounding with intent to murder". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 May 1867. p. 2. Retrieved 30 December 2020 – via Trove.
  3. "Supreme Court: Queen v Thomas Clarke and another (Bushgrangers)". The Empire (4, 869). New South Wales, Australia. 13 June 1867. p. 5. Retrieved 30 December 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. Mason, Keith, The Office of Solicitor General for New South Wales (PDF) (1988 Autumn) Bar News: Journal of the NSW Bar Association 22.
  5. "PFO-5 Justice and Public Instruction". NSW State Records & Archives. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  6. "Sir George Wigram Allen (1824-1885)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  7. "PFO-6 Justice". NSW State Records & Archives. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  8. "Mr Joseph Docker (1802–1884)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  9. "Sir Francis Bathurst Suttor (1839-1915)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  10. "Sir John Lackey (1830-1903)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  11. "Mr Joseph Leary (1831-1881)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
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