Richard Bullock Andrews (11 May 1823 – 26 June 1884) was an Australian politician and judge.

Early life

Richard Bullock Andrews was born in Epping, Essex, England the eldest child of Richard Bullock Andrews, an attorney, and his wife Emma Ann. From December 1839 Bullock worked in his father's

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

s business. On 15 August 1846 he married Elizabeth Holtaway (29 August 1818 – 15 February 1906), daughter of a solicitor. Andrews emigrated to

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, arriving there 14 December 1852 aboard the steamship ''Sydney''. In 1853 he was appointed a

notary public A notary public ( notary or public notary; notaries public) of the common law is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with general financial transactions, estates, deeds, powers- ...

, on 3 May 1853 he was admitted to practice in the

Supreme Court of South Australia The Supreme Court of South Australia is the superior court of the Australian state of South Australia. The Supreme Court is the highest South Australian court in the Australian court hierarchy. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in ...

. He practised in the Local Court at

Mount Barker, South Australia Mount Barker is a city in South Australia. Located approximately 33 kilometres (21 miles) from the Adelaide city centre, it is home to 21,554 residents (2021). It is the seat of the District Council of Mount Barker, the largest town in the Adela ...

and then set up an office in Adelaide.

Politics

In June 1857 he was elected to the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

for Yatala and was

Attorney-General of South Australia The attorney-general of South Australia is the Cabinet minister in the Government of South Australia who is responsible for that state's system of law and justice. The attorney-general must be a qualified legal practitioner, although this wa ...

in the

Torrens Torrens may refer to: Places South Australia * Electoral district of Torrens, a state electoral district * Lake Torrens, a salt lake north of Adelaide * River Torrens, which runs through the heart of Adelaide * City of West Torrens, a local go ...

ministry from 1 to 30 September. He was elected a member for Sturt in 1862 and was again attorney-general in the Dutton and Ayers ministries in 1863, 1865, 1867 and 1868. He had been made a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

(Q.C.) in 1865 and in January 1870 resigned from parliament to become crown solicitor and public prosecutor. In March 1881 he was appointed a judge of the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. He fell into ill-health, was obliged to take six months leave of absence at the end of 1883 and died at

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

on 26 June 1884 leaving a widow and a daughter, Agnes Reid Andrews, who married Mortimer, a son of William Giles, on 16 May 1874.

Legacy

Andrews was an excellent public prosecutor and had the attributes of a good judge. His health however gave him few opportunities of showing this during the short time he was on the bench. In private life he was an amateur

viticulturist Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ...

, planting of vines; he made some good wines during the 1860s. The Hundred of Andrews, proclaimed in 1864, an agricultural district straddling the Hill River near Spalding, was named after him.

Family

Andrews had a younger brother,

William Buckton Andrews William Buckton Andrews (26 November 1829 – 2 February 1918), better known as "Canon Andrews" was an Anglican clergyman in the early days of the Colony of South Australia, where he served in the Diocese of Adelaide for over 60 years. History A ...

, who followed him to Adelaide in 1854, and as Canon Andrews became a celebrated and much loved leader of the Anglican Church, and whose daughter Alice Margaret married another son of William Giles.

Citations

References