Alexander Onslow: Difference between revisions

Sir
Alexander Onslow
Sir Alexander Onslow
3rd Chief Justice of Western Australia
	In office; 1883–1901
Monarch	Victoria
Governor	Sir Frederick Broome; Sir William C. F. Robinson; Sir Gerard Smith;
Preceded by	Sir Henry Wrenfordsley
Succeeded by	Sir Edward Stone
Attorney-General of Western Australia
	In office; 21 March 1881 – 9 April 1883
Preceded by	Sir George Walpole Leake QC
Succeeded by	Sir George Walpole Leake QC
Personal details
Born	17 July 1842
Died	20 October 1908 (aged 66); England
Spouse(s)	Madeline Emma, née Loftus
Relations	Arthur Alexander Walton Onslow (brother)
Parents	Arthur Pooley Onslow (father); Rosa Roberta, née McLeay (mother);
Alma mater	Trinity College, Cambridge
Occupation	Barrister; jurist
Awards	Knight Bachelor

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Sir Alexander Campbell Onslow (17 July 1842 – 20 October 1908) was the third Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia, which is the highest ranking court in the Australian State of Western Australia.

Onslow is a forebear of the notable Australian Macarthur-Onslow families.

Biography

Onslow was the fourth son of Arthur Pooley Onslow, of Send Grove, Ripley, Surrey, by his wife, Rosa Roberta, daughter of Alexander Macleay, F.R.S., Speaker of the first New South Wales Legislative Council.^[1] Onslow was educated at Westminster and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. in 1864. He entered at the Inner Temple on 15 January 1862, was called to the bar on 17 November 1868, and went the Home Circuit. On 4 February 1878, he married Madeline Emma Loftus, daughter of Rev. Robert Loftus Tottenham, of Florence, and granddaughter of the Bishop of Clogher.^[1]

Onslow was Attorney-General of British Honduras from 1878 to 1880, and Attorney-General of Western Australia from 1880 to 1883. In July of the latter year he was appointed Chief Justice, in which capacity he administered the government during the absence of Sir Frederick Broome in England in 1884–5. Onslow's relations with that Governor having subsequently become strained, the latter threatened Onslow's security of tenure by "interdicting" him from his functions as Chief Justice, for the alleged premature and improper publication of certain correspondence then pending between them and with the Colonial Office. The Executive Council unanimously confirmed the interdict, and placed Mr. Onslow on half-pay pending the decision of the Colonial Office. In the result, Lord Knutsford reinstated Mr. Onslow, but censured him.^[1] Ultimately, in view of the attitude assumed by the Chief Justice in adjudicating on certain cases of newspaper libel, the Legislative Council passed a resolution requesting the Home Government, in the interests of tranquillity, to transfer him to some other location. He was accordingly given, a year's leave of absence but this was extended. In February 1890 it was announced that he was to exchange posts with Sir Elliot Bovill, Chief Justice of Cyprus.^[2] This arrangement did not actually take place and Sir Henry T. Wrensfordsley was sent out to the colony in 1890 as Acting Chief Justice. Mr. Onslow returned to Western Australia and resumed his occupancy of the office of Chief Justice in July 1891.^[1] He was Administrator of Western Australia during the Governor's absence from March 1900.^[3]

He retired in 1901 and returned to England, where he died on 20 October 1908.

Onslow was knighted in 1895 for services rendered to the Queen's colonies since 1878.^[4]

Family

Father

Arthur Pooley Onslow - father

Mother

Rosa Roberta, née McLeay - mother
Alexander McLeay (1767–1848)^[5] - Rosa Roberta's father
Rosa Roberta's siblings
- William Sharp Macleay (1792–1865)^[6] He never married and the heir to his estate was his brother, George W. J. Macleay
- Sir George W. J. Macleay (1809–1891)^[7]
- James Robert (1811–1892) secretary of the commission for the suppression of the slave trade in Cape Colony.
- Margaret (b. 1802) married Archibald Clunes Innes (1800–1857)^[8] in 1829
- Christiana Susan (b.1799) married Captain William Dumaresq (1793–1868)^[9] in 1830
- Barbara Isabella (b.1797) married Pieter Laurentz Campbell (1809–1948)^[10] in 1834.

Siblings

Arthur Alexander Walton Onslow (1833–1882) - brother
- James Macarthur-Onslow - nephew

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Mennell, Philip (1892). "Onslow, Alexander Campbell" . The Dictionary of Australasian Biography. London: Hutchinson & Co – via Wikisource.
^ "Chief Justice Onslow". Trove. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
^ "Latest intelligence - Australasia". The Times. No. 36098. London. 23 March 1900. p. 7.
^ "News and notes". The West Australian. 27 May 1895. p. 4. Retrieved 7 January 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^ 'McLeay, Alexander (1767–1848)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2, Melbourne University Press, 1967, pp 177-180.
^ David S. Macmillan, 'Macleay, William Sharp (1792–1865)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2, Melbourne University Press, 1967, pp 182-183.
^ David S. Macmillan, 'Macleay, Sir George (1809–1891)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2, Melbourne University Press, 1967, pp 180-182.
^ E. Flowers, 'Innes, Archibald Clunes (1800–1857)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2, Melbourne University Press, 1967, pp 3-4.
^ Nancy Gray, 'Dumaresq, William John (1793–1868)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, Melbourne University Press, 1966, pp 333-335.
^ Hazel King, 'Campbell, Pieter Laurentz (1809–1848)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, Melbourne University Press, 1966, pp 201-202.

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+{{Short description|Australian politician}}
-{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2016}}
-{{Use Australian English|date=November 2016}}
+{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
+{{Use Australian English|date=August 2021}}
+{{Infobox officeholder
+| honorific_prefix = Sir
+| name = Alexander Onslow
+| native_name = <!--The person's name in their own language, if different.-->
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+| alongside = <!--For two or more people serving in the same position from the same district. (e.g. United States Senators.)-->
+| monarch = [[Queen Victoria|Victoria]]
+| governor = {{bulleted list|Sir [[Frederick Broome]]|Sir [[William C. F. Robinson]]|Sir [[Gerard Smith (governor)|Gerard Smith]]}}
+| premier =
+| predecessor = Sir [[Henry Wrenfordsley]]
+| successor = Sir [[Edward Stone (Australian judge)|Edward Stone]]
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+| height = <!-- "X cm", "X m" or "X ft Y in" plus optional reference (conversions are automatic) -->
+| spouse = Madeline Emma, née Loftus
+| partner = <!--For those with a domestic partner and not married-->
+| relations = [[Arthur Onslow (Australian politician)|Arthur Alexander Walton Onslow]] {{smaller|(brother)}}
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 '''Sir Alexander Campbell Onslow''' (17 July 1842 – 20 October 1908) was the third [[Chief Justice of Western Australia|Chief Justice]] of the [[Supreme Court of Western Australia]], which is the [[Australian court hierarchy|highest ranking court]] in the [[Australia]]n [[States and territories of Australia|State]] of [[Western Australia]].
+Onslow is a [[Ancestor|forebear]] of the notable Australian [[John Macarthur (wool pioneer)|Macarthur]]-[[Arthur Onslow (Australian politician)|Onslow]] families.
+== Biography ==
 Onslow was the fourth son of Arthur Pooley Onslow, of Send Grove, Ripley, Surrey, by his wife, Rosa Roberta, daughter of [[Alexander Macleay]], F.R.S., Speaker of the first [[New South Wales Legislative Council]].<ref name=Mennell>{{cite Australasia|Onslow, Alexander Campbell}}</ref> Onslow was educated at Westminster and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. in 1864. He entered at the Inner Temple on 15 January 1862, was called to the bar on 17 November 1868, and went the Home Circuit. On 4 February 1878, he married Madeline Emma Loftus, daughter of Rev. Robert Loftus Tottenham, of Florence, and granddaughter of the Bishop of Clogher.<ref name=Mennell/>
-Onslow was Attorney-General of [[British Honduras]] from 1878 to 1880, and Attorney-General of Western Australia from 1880 to 1883. In July of the latter year he was appointed Chief Justice, in which capacity he administered the government during the absence of Sir [[Frederick Broome]] in England in 1884-5. Onslow's relations with that Governor having subsequently become strained, the latter [[List of Australian judges whose security of tenure was challenged|threatened Onslow's security of tenure]] by "interdicting" him from his functions as Chief Justice, for the alleged premature and improper publication of certain correspondence then pending between them and with the Colonial Office. The Executive Council unanimously confirmed the interdict, and placed Mr. Onslow on half-pay pending the decision of the Colonial Office. In the result, [[Henry Holland, 1st Viscount Knutsford|Lord Knutsford]] reinstated Mr. Onslow, but censured him.<ref name=Mennell/> Ultimately, in view of the attitude assumed by the Chief Justice in adjudicating on certain cases of newspaper libel, the Legislative Council passed a resolution requesting the Home Government, in the interests of tranquillity, to transfer him to some other location. He was accordingly given, a year's leave of absence but this was extended. In Feb 1890 it was announced that he was to exchange posts with Sir [[Elliot Bovill]], [[Chief Justice of Cyprus]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47072508| title= Chief Justice Onslow|publisher= Trove|accessdate = 26 September 2015}}</ref> This arrangement did not actually take place and Sir [[Henry Wrenfordsley|Henry T. Wrensfordsley]] was sent out to the colony in 1890 as Acting Chief Justice.  Mr. Onslow returned to Western Australia and resumed his occupancy of the office of Chief Justice in July 1891.<ref name=Mennell/> Onslow was knighted in 1895 for services rendered to the Queen's colonies since 1878.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4541115 |title=News and notes |newspaper=[[The West Australian]] |date=27 May 1895 |accessdate=7 January 2019 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
+Onslow was Attorney-General of [[British Honduras]] from 1878 to 1880, and [[Attorney-General of Western Australia]] from 1880 to 1883. In July of the latter year he was appointed Chief Justice, in which capacity he administered the government during the absence of Sir [[Frederick Broome]] in England in 1884–5. Onslow's relations with that Governor having subsequently become strained, the latter [[List of Australian judges whose security of tenure was challenged|threatened Onslow's security of tenure]] by "interdicting" him from his functions as Chief Justice, for the alleged premature and improper publication of certain correspondence then pending between them and with the Colonial Office. The Executive Council unanimously confirmed the interdict, and placed Mr. Onslow on half-pay pending the decision of the Colonial Office. In the result, [[Henry Holland, 1st Viscount Knutsford|Lord Knutsford]] reinstated Mr. Onslow, but censured him.<ref name=Mennell/> Ultimately, in view of the attitude assumed by the Chief Justice in adjudicating on certain cases of newspaper libel, the Legislative Council passed a resolution requesting the Home Government, in the interests of tranquillity, to transfer him to some other location. He was accordingly given, a year's leave of absence but this was extended. In February 1890 it was announced that he was to exchange posts with Sir [[Elliot Bovill]], [[Chief Justice of Cyprus]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47072508| title= Chief Justice Onslow|publisher= Trove|accessdate = 26 September 2015}}</ref> This arrangement did not actually take place and Sir [[Henry Wrenfordsley|Henry T. Wrensfordsley]] was sent out to the colony in 1890 as Acting Chief Justice.  Mr. Onslow returned to Western Australia and resumed his occupancy of the office of Chief Justice in July 1891.<ref name=Mennell/> He was Administrator of Western Australia during the Governor's absence from March 1900.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Latest intelligence - Australasia |date=23 March 1900 |page=7 |issue=36098}}</ref>
 He retired in 1901 and returned to England, where he died on 20 October 1908.
+Onslow was knighted in 1895 for services rendered to the Queen's colonies since 1878.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4541115 |title=News and notes |newspaper=[[The West Australian]] |date=27 May 1895 |accessdate=7 January 2019 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
 ==Family==
@@ Line 15: / Line 101: @@
 ;Mother
 * Rosa Roberta, née McLeay - mother
-* Alexander McLeay (1767–1848)<ref>[http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020156b.htm 'McLeay, Alexander (1767–1848)'], Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2, Melbourne University Press, 1967, pp 177-180.</ref> - Rosa Roberta's father
+* [[Alexander McLeay]] (1767–1848)<ref>[http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020156b.htm 'McLeay, Alexander (1767–1848)'], Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2, Melbourne University Press, 1967, pp 177-180.</ref> - Rosa Roberta's father
 * Rosa Roberta's siblings
-** William Sharp Macleay (1792–1865)<ref>David S. Macmillan, [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020158b.htm 'Macleay, William Sharp (1792–1865)'], Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2, Melbourne University Press, 1967, pp 182-183.</ref> He never married and the heir to his estate was his brother, George W. J. Macleay
+** [[William Sharp Macleay]] (1792–1865)<ref>David S. Macmillan, [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020158b.htm 'Macleay, William Sharp (1792–1865)'], Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2, Melbourne University Press, 1967, pp 182-183.</ref> He never married and the heir to his estate was his brother, George W. J. Macleay
 ** Sir George W. J. Macleay (1809–1891)<ref>David S. Macmillan, [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020157b.htm 'Macleay, Sir George (1809–1891)'], Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2, Melbourne University Press, 1967, pp 180-182.</ref>
 ** James Robert (1811–1892) secretary of the commission for the suppression of the slave trade in Cape Colony.
 ** Margaret (b. 1802) married Archibald Clunes Innes (1800–1857)<ref>E. Flowers, [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020004b.htm 'Innes, Archibald Clunes (1800–1857)'], Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2, Melbourne University Press, 1967, pp 3-4.</ref> in 1829
-** Christiana Susan (b.1799) married Captain William Dumaresq (1793–1868)<ref>Nancy Gray, [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010557b.htm 'Dumaresq, William John (1793–1868)'], Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, Melbourne University Press, 1966, pp 333-335.</ref> in 1830
+** Christiana Susan (b.1799) married Captain [[William Dumaresq]] (1793–1868)<ref>Nancy Gray, [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010557b.htm 'Dumaresq, William John (1793–1868)'], Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, Melbourne University Press, 1966, pp 333-335.</ref> in 1830
 ** Barbara Isabella (b.1797) married Pieter Laurentz Campbell (1809–1948)<ref>Hazel King, [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010189b.htm 'Campbell, Pieter Laurentz (1809–1848)'], Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, Melbourne University Press, 1966, pp 201-202.</ref> in 1834.
 ;Siblings
-* Arthur Alexander Walton Onslow (1833–1882) - brother
+* [[Arthur Onslow (Australian politician)|Arthur Alexander Walton Onslow]] (1833–1882) - brother
 ** [[James Macarthur-Onslow]] - nephew
+==See also==
+* [[Judiciary of Australia]]
+* [[James Macarthur-Onslow#Family]]
 ==References==
-* E. K. Braybrooke, [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A050422b.htm 'Onslow, Sir Alexander Campbell (1842–1908)'], [[Australian Dictionary of Biography]], Volume 5, [[Melbourne University Press]], 1974, pp 367–369.
-* Black, David, and Bolton, Geoffrey (1990) ''Biographical register of members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Volume one. 1870-1930''  assisted by Ann Mozley and Patricia Simpson. Perth W.A: Western Australian Parliamentary History Project. {{ISBN|0-7316-9782-0}}
 {{Reflist}}
 ==Further reading==
+* Braybrooke, E. K., [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A050422b.htm 'Onslow, Sir Alexander Campbell (1842–1908)'], [[Australian Dictionary of Biography]], Volume 5, [[Melbourne University Press]], 1974, pp 367–369.
+* Black, David, and Bolton, Geoffrey (1990) ''Biographical register of members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Volume one. 1870-1930''  assisted by Ann Mozley and Patricia Simpson. Perth W.A: Western Australian Parliamentary History Project. {{ISBN|0-7316-9782-0}}
 * ''biographical details'' West Australian, 27/5/1895,
-==See also==
-* [[Judiciary of Australia]]
-* [[James Macarthur-Onslow#Family]]
 {{s-start}}
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 [[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
 [[Category:Australian people of Scottish descent]]
-[[Category:Chief Justices of Western Australia]]
+[[Category:Chief justices of Western Australia]]
 [[Category:Colony of Western Australia judges]]
-[[Category:Attorneys-General of Western Australia]]
+[[Category:Attorneys-general of Western Australia]]
 [[Category:British colonial attorneys general in Oceania]]
-[[Category:Attorneys-General of British Honduras]]
+[[Category:Attorneys-general of British Honduras]]
 [[Category:Onslow family|Alexander]]
 [[Category:Judges of the Supreme Court of Western Australia]]
 [[Category:19th-century Australian judges]]
 [[Category:20th-century Australian judges]]
+[[Category:Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge]]
+[[Category:19th-century Australian politicians]]