David John Davies Bevan (11 January 1873 – 2 October 1954) was an English-born Australian judge.

Life

Bevan was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1873. His parents were

Louisa Jane Bevan Louisa may refer to: Places ;Australia * Louisa Island (Tasmania) ;Canada * Louisa or Lac-Louisa, a community in Wentworth, Quebec ;Malaysia * Louisa Reef, Sabah ;United States * Louisa, Kentucky * Louisa, Missouri * Louisa, Virginia * Louisa C ...

and

Llewelyn David Bevan Llewelyn David Bevan (11 September 1842 – 19 July 1918) was a Congregational church minister and academic active in Australia.Gunson, Niel;Bevan, Llewelyn David (1842 - 1918), ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 7, Melbourne Universi ...

. They moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

in 1886, attending

Melbourne Church of England Grammar School Melbourne Grammar School is an Australian private Anglican day and boarding school. It comprises a co-educational preparatory school from Prep to Year 6 and a middle school and senior school for boys from Years 7 to 12. The three campuses are ...

and the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

, where he was a resident at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

. He enlisted in the University Corps of Officers on 25 September 1896 and was subsequently allotted to the Victorian Garrison Artillery where he was promoted to major in November 1910. In 1914 he was placed on the Unattached List. He practised as a solicitor from 1901 to 1912, when he moved to Darwin to take up a position as the first judge of the

Supreme Court of the Northern Territory The Supreme Court of the Northern Territory is the superior court for the Australian Territory of the Northern Territory. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. It is a ...

. His close association with the

Administrator of the Northern Territory The administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the governor-general of Australia to represent the Crown in right of the Northern Territory. They perform functions similar to those of a state governor. Strictly speaking ...

John A. Gilruth John Anderson Gilruth (17 February 1871 – 4 March 1937) was a Scottish-Australian veterinary scientist and administrator. He is particularly noted for being Administrator of the Northern Territory from 1912 to 1918, when he was recalled afte ...

, led to a perception of a lack of judicial independence; following the Darwin Rebellion, which led to Gilruth being recalled, a public meeting resolved that Bevan and other judges should leave the territory forthwith. He left on 18 October 1919 and was officially removed from office on 22 September 1920 after a Royal Commission conducted by Tasmanian Justice Norman Ewing. Bevan sued the government but settled out of court. In later life he retired back to Victoria, settling in Upper Beaconsfield, where he died in 1954."Death of First Darwin Judge"
''The Advertiser'' delaide 4 October 1954, p. 2.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bevan, David 1873 births 1954 deaths People educated at Trinity College (University of Melbourne) Judges of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory British emigrants to Australia