Sir Thomas à Beckett (31 August 1836 – 21 June 1919) was an Australian

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 ...

and

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

Personal life

Thomas à Beckett 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 ...

, England. He was the eldest son of

Thomas Turner à Beckett Thomas Turner à Beckett (13 September 1808 – 1 July 1892) was a lawyer and politician in colonial Victoria (Australia), member of the Victorian Legislative Council. Early life à Beckett was born in London, England, son of William à Becket ...

and arrived in Australia with his father (brother of Sir

William à Beckett Sir William à Beckett (28 July 1806 – 27 June 1869) was a British barrister and the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria. Background Born in London, he was the eldest son of William à Beckett, also a solicitor. His younger ...

) in January 1851, arriving in

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 ...

on the ''Andromache''. À Beckett attended a private school in Melbourne but went back to England in 1856 and on 18 May 1857 became a student at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

, being called to the bar on 17 November 1857. He returned to Victoria, and was admitted to the bar there on 16 August 1860, and practised before the

Supreme Court of Victoria The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in 1852, it is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited and inherent jurisdiction within the state. The Supreme Court compri ...

. In 1866 he was made a puisne judge of the Victorian Supreme Court and was frequently required to act as Victoria's Chief Justice. In 1875 à Beckett married Isabella, the daughter of Sir

Archibald Michie Sir Archibald Michie , (1813 – 21 June 1899) was an English-born Australian lawyer, journalist, Agent-General, Attorney-General of Victoria (Australia), Attorney-General of Victoria and politician. Biography Michie was born in Maida Vale, Lon ...

, who survived him with two sons and three daughters. A younger brother, Edward à Beckett (1844–1932), was a portrait painter. Examples of his work are at the Supreme Court, Melbourne. He was knighted as

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

during 1909. In 1916 the

Victorian bar The Victorian Bar is the bar association of the Australian State of Victoria. The 2024-2025 President of the Bar is Justin Hannebery KC. Its members are barristers registered to practice in Victoria. Those who have been admitted to practice ...

presented his portrait by

Max Meldrum Duncan Max Meldrum (3 December 1875 – 6 June 1955) was a Scottish-born Australian artist and art teacher, best known as the founder of Australian tonalism, a representational painting style that became popular in Melbourne during the interwa ...

to the Supreme Court library, and the opportunity was taken to express the affection in which à Beckett was held. Sir Thomas à Beckett died at Melbourne on 21 June 1919.

Professional life

À Beckett 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 ...

in 1859 while he was still in England. He returned to Melbourne in 1860 where he established his practice as a

, specializing in equity. He was lecturer in the law of procedure for several years at 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 ...

from 1874 onwards, and had been leader of the equity bar for some time when he was appointed a supreme court judge in September 1886. À Beckett served as a judge from 30 September 1886 until 30 June 1917 on the

. He retired on 31 July 1917.

References

External links

Supreme Court of Victoria Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abeckett, Thomas 1836 births 1919 deaths Judges of the Supreme Court of Victoria Lawyers from London Academic staff of the University of Melbourne Colony of Victoria judges Australian Knights Bachelor 19th-century English lawyers British emigrants to the Colony of New South Wales À Beckett family Lawyers awarded knighthoods

Personal life

Professional life

See also

References

External links