John Hargrave (jurist)

Infobox Politician

width =

height =

caption =

name = John Fletcher Hargrave

honorific-prefix =

honorific-suffix =

office = Member of Legislative Council of New South Wales

term_start = 12 October 1859

term_end = 23 June 1865

predecessor =

successor =

constituency =

majority =

office2 = New South Wales Legislative Assembly

term_start2 =15 March 1859

term_end2 =11 April 1859

predecessor2 =
successor2 =

constituency2 = East Camden

majority2 =

office3 =

term_start3 =15 June 1859
term_end3 = 11 October 1859

predecessor3 =

successor3 =

constituency3 =Illawarra

majority3 =
office4 = Judge, Supreme Court of New South Wales

term_start4 = 22 June 1865
term_end4 = 1881
birth_date = 28 December 1815
birth_place = Greenwich, England
death_date = 23 February 1885

death_place = Sydney, New South Wales

party =

relations =

spouse =

civil partner =

children =

residence =

occupation =

religion =

website =

footnotes =

John Fletcher Hargrave (28 December 1815 – 23 February 1885) was a former Australian politican, judge and politican.

Hargrave was born to Joshua Hargrave and Sarah Hargrave (nee Lee) at Greenwich, England. His father was a hardware merchant. He was educated at King’s College, London in 1830 winning a certificate of honour for rhetoric. He went on to Trinity College, Cambrige and was awarded a Bachelor of Arts in 1837 and a Masters of Arts in 1840. He enrolled at Lincoln’s Inn and was called to the Bar in 1841.

He married his counsin Ann Hargrave on 20 September 1843. They were to have three sons and a daughter. He retired from the bar in 1851 and some time after was committed to an asylum at Colney Hatch in Middlesex by his wife and he gradually recovered there. He never forgave his wife for this.

He migrated to Sydney, New South Wales in February 1857. He was admitted to the New South Wales bar on his arrival and became a judge of the then District Court. His wife returned to England because he could not endure her presence. He resigned from the bench in February 1859 as his judgeship was “disastrous for women suitors” as he regularly decided against them. He became solicitor-general for New South Wales on 21 February 1859 following his resignation and held that appointment until 26 October of that year. He appointed again to that position on 3 November and held it till 8 March 1860.

He represented East Camden in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly between 15 March and 11 April 1859, and then the Illawarra from 15 June to 11 October 1859.

On 12 October 1859 he was appointed to the Legislative Council and held that appointment until 23 June 1865. He was Attorney General from 2 Aprill 1860 until 31 July 1863, and then returned to the role of Solicitor General between 1 August 1863 and 15 October 1863. There was a further appointment between 3 February and 21 June 1865.

He then received a life appointment to the Council on 3 September 1861. In Parliament he was on the:

*Standing Orders Committee,
*Elections and Qualifications Committee,
*Burwood Tramroad Continuation Act Amendment Bill Committee,
*Late Shipwrecks Committee
*Port Jackson Committee; and
*the Australian Agricultural Company’s Newcastle Railway Bill Committee.

He was appointed a Kings Counsel in 1863. He was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales on 22 June 1865 but his swearing-in was boycotted by the New South Wales Bar.Australian Dictionary of Biography
last=Bennett
first=J. M.
authorlink=
year=1972
id=A040392b
title= Hargrave, John Fletcher (1815 - 1885)
accessdate=2008-08-30 ] He was the Judge in divorce appointed to the Divorce Division of the Court. He proved to be a disaster on the bench and he admitted that he did not sit before 11am or work after 1pm. He was retired as a judge in 1881. [cite web|title=John Fletcher Hargrave (1815 – 1885)|url=http://www.parlpapers.sl.nsw.gov.au/display.cfm?parl_id=7400|accessdate=2008-08-30|publisher=New South Wales Government|year=2006|work=State Library of New South Wales project for the Sesquicentenary of Responsible Government in NSW, 1856–2006]

He became reader a in general jurisprudence at the University of Sydney and gave his first lecture on 3 August 1858. His course of twenty lectures were published in 1878. He died in 1885 and was buried in Waverley Cemetery.

His brother Richard Hargrave also served in the New South Wales Parliament after arriving in New South Wales in 1838. His son Lawrence Hargrave was the inventor of the box or cellular kite. Hargrave’s great, great nephew Rick Colless is a current serving member of the New South Wales Parliament.cite web|title=Legislative Council Rural Assistance Amendment Bill Hansard (Extract)|url=http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/members.nsf/bc7876d9985e3b87ca256ce000181fc7/3882f90570199453ca25694b0026ab47/$FILE/First%20Speech.Colless.pdf|format=pdf|accessdate=2008-08-30|publisher=Parliament of New South Wales|date=2000-10-11|work=NSW Parliament website]

References