Sir Archibald Paull Burt QC (1 September 1810 – 21 November 1879) was a British lawyer, politician and judge. He grew up on the island of

Saint Christopher Saint Christopher (, , ; ) is venerated by several Christian denominations. According to these traditions, he was a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman Empire, Roman emperor Decius (), or alternatively under the emperor Maximin ...

in the West Indies, where both he and his father owned slaves. He studied law in England and returned to Saint Christopher where he served as speaker of the house of assembly, attorney-general and chief justice. In 1861, Burt was appointed as the colony of Western Australia's inaugural chief justice. He held the position until his death in 1879 and was the patriarch of one of the so-called "

six hungry families ''Six hungry families'' was a phrase used in the 1880s and 1890s to describe six of the most prominent and powerful families in colonial Western Australia, with extensive influence in judicial, political, mercantile and social circles. It was f ...

" of the colony.

Early life

Burt was born on 1 September 1810 in the British colony of

(now part of

Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis, officially the Federation of Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis, is an island country consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of the Less ...

). He was the son of Eliza Anne () and George Henry Burt, a sugar planter from a prominent family on the island. His father served a term as speaker of the colonial house of assembly and owned several plantations, as well as over 100 slaves. Burt likely spent his earliest years on his father's plantations, possibly on the Brothersons estate of in the

Capisterre Capisterre (a corruption of the original French name Capesterre) is a region covering the Northern Coastal plain on the Island of Saint Kitts. It was originally colonized by the French in the early 17th century, with its capital on the only har ...

district. He was sent to England to attend a private school in

Richmond, Surrey Richmond is a town in south-west London,The London Government Act 1963 (c.33) (as amended) categorises the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames as an Outer London borough. Although it is on both sides of the River Thames, the Boundary Commis ...

, and was then admitted to study law at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in April 1825, aged 14. In 1835 and 1836 Burt was awarded compensation by the British government for relinquishing slaves in Saint Christopher. The claim on 5 October 1835 for 3 enslaved, yielded £67 0s 3d to Burt himself. Two claims were awarded on 15 February 1836, to Burt and Francis Spencer Wigley (who became President of Saint Christopher in 1880 and of

Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla (or Saint Christopher, Nevis, and Anguilla) was a British colony in the West Indies from 1882 to 1983, consisting of the islands of Anguilla (until 1980), Nevis, and Saint Kitts, Saint Christopher (or Saint Kitt ...

in 1888), for 3 and 4 slaves, netting a total of £119 7s 9d for seven enslaved people.

West Indies legal career

Burt was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

of Saint Christopher in 1830, although he had not been eligible for the bar in England as he was still under the age of majority. He established a legal practice in 1833 and by 1838 had been commissioned as one of the island's few notaries public, as well as serving as an honorary aide-de-camp to the island's

lieutenant-governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a " second-in-com ...

. He was eventually called to the bar of the Middle Temple while on a trip to England in 1845. Burt held a number of public posts on Saint Christopher, serving on the island's

legislative council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

, executive council, and administrative committee, as well as speaker of the house of assembly. He also served as the island's

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death. The official may also investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

and was

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the Anglican Diocese of Antigua (which included Saint Christopher) from 1855 to 1860. He was identified by

Willoughby Shortland Commander Willoughby Shortland (30 September 1804 – 7 October 1869) was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. He was New Zealand's first Colonial Secretary from 1841, after having arrived in New Zealand with Lieutenant Governor ...

in correspondence to the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created in 1768 from the Southern Department to deal with colonial affairs in North America (particularly the Thirteen Colo ...

as "reputed to be the ablest lawyer in the West Indies". In 1849, Burt was appointed attorney-general of Saint Christopher and

Anguilla Anguilla is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Sa ...

by lieutenant-governor Robert James Mackintosh. He received an annual salary of £300 () but was permitted to continue his private practice.

Western Australia

In 1857, he briefly occupied the position of Chief Justice on his native island but the appointment was not confirmed by the

as policy did not favour the appointment of locally born barristers to the judiciary. Sir Archibald began to look elsewhere for judicial office, eventually accepting the post of Civil Commissioner and Chairman of Quarter Sessions in Western Australia. He had hoped that this would be a stepping stone to returning to his native island at a later date. He arrived in Western Australia with his wife, Louisa Bryan, and five children on 29 January 1861. In June of that year, the Supreme Court ordinance was proclaimed, thus establishing the

Supreme Court of Western Australia The Supreme Court of Western Australia is the highest state court in the Australian State of Western Australia. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters (although it usually only hears matters involving sums of or more ...

. Sir Archibald was appointed Chief Justice and Advocate General. The initial years of the Supreme Court were characterised mainly by the lack of work. Western Australia was a small colony with few legal issues. Civil work consisted mainly of insolvency and probate, and criminal offences were rare. The size of the profession was so small that only four barristers actively practised in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

in the early 1860s. In the early years of the court, Sir Archibald was conspicuous for his support of maintaining the division between barristers and solicitors, and also for his domination of the legal fraternity. He often gave advice to the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

and Executive Council that was at odds with that of the Attorney General, George Frederick Stone. As Chief Justice, Sir Archibald gained a reputation for applying the letter of the law. However, considering the conditions of a frontier colony like Western Australia this was necessary and gained Burt widespread respect. He was no stranger to controversy in his time as Chief Justice. In 1869 he jailed three newspaper owners for criticism of his handling of the revocation of an ex-convict's

ticket of leave A ticket of leave was a document of parole issued to convicts who had shown they could now be trusted with some freedoms. Originally the ticket was issued in United Kingdom, Britain and later adapted by the United States, Canada, and Ireland. ...

. Despite widespread criticism of this action, Sir Archibald remained implacable in his defence of his duty to protect the integrity of the Court. As his tenure continued, Sir Archibald gave up any hope of returning to the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

, and despite failing health during his last years, remained Chief Justice until his death in November, 1879. He had been a towering figure in Western Australian society and left an indelible mark on the legal profession. Sir Archibald had not courted popularity but he had earned, for himself and the new Supreme Court, widespread respect.

Personal life

In 1836, Burt married Louisa Emily Bryan, the daughter of a local physician, at St. George's Anglican Church in Basseterre, Saint Christopher. The couple had twelve children, two of whom died in infancy. His seventh son Septimus became attorney-general of Western Australia, while his daughter Louisa married

George Leake George Leake (3 December 1856 – 24 June 1902) was the third Premier of Western Australia, serving from May to November 1901 and then again from December 1901 to his death. Leake was born in Perth, into a prominent local family. Studying la ...

, who became the state's third

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

. The prominent of Burt's children in colonial society led

John Horgan John Joseph Horgan (August 7, 1959 – November 12, 2024) was a Canadian politician and diplomat who served as the 36th premier of British Columbia from 2017 to 2022 and the ambassador of Canada to Germany from 2023 to 2024. He led the Briti ...

to label them one of the "

". Burt was widowed in 1870 and was predeceased by two of his adult sons, who both died in 1872. He died at his home in

East Perth East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that eas ...

on 21 November 1879, aged 69, with his death attributed to

erysipelas Erysipelas () is a relatively common bacterial infection of the superficial layer of the skin ( upper dermis), extending to the superficial lymphatic vessels within the skin, characterized by a raised, well-defined, tender, bright- red rash, ...

of the legs. He was interred at the East Perth Cemetery.

Legacy

Burt has been suggested as a model for the character of Andrew Rae in

Henrietta Drake-Brockman Henrietta Drake-Brockman (27 July 1901 – 8 March 1968) was an Australian journalist and novelist. Early life Henrietta Frances York Jull was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1901 to public service commissioner Martin Edward Jull (1862–19 ...

's 1937 novel ''Younger Sons''. In 2015, the Division of Burt in the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...

was named in honour of the Burt family "for their significant contributions to the justice system and for their wider contributions to public service", in particular Archibald Burt, his son Septimus, and Septimus's grandson Francis Burt.

References

Family papers

* Burt, Archibald Paull, Sir, ''Papers, 1861-1895 icroform'

Battye Library The J S Battye Library (more properly known as the J. S. Battye Library of West Australian History) is an arm of the State Library of Western Australia. It stores much of the state's historical records and original publications including books, ...

, MN 736, Papers of Sir Archibald Paull Burt, ACC 2829A, 2850A, 2855A Library catalogues description: Business and official letter books (1861-1895), the copy letters written after 4 November 1879 being written by his son and executor Septimus Burt; indexes to Supreme Court Civil Sittings and Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Books 1-11 (incomplete); notebooks of Supreme Court Civil Sittings (1861-1867), of Supreme Court Civil Sittings and Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes (1867-1879) and of Supreme Court Criminal Sittings (1861-1879) {{DEFAULTSORT:Burt, Archibald 1810 births 1879 deaths Burials at East Perth Cemeteries Chief justices of Western Australia Australian King's Counsel Colony of Western Australia judges Judges of the Supreme Court of Western Australia 19th-century Australian judges British slave owners Attorneys general of Saint Kitts and Nevis People from Saint Kitts Saint Kitts and Nevis judges 19th-century Saint Kitts and Nevis lawyers Recipients of payments from the Slavery Abolition Act 1833