Thomas à Beckett

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

Personal

Thomas à Beckett was born in London, England. He was the eldest son of his parents and arrived in Australia with his father Thomas Turner à Beckett (brother of Sir William à Beckett) in January 1851, arriving in Melbourne on the "Andromache".

à Beckett attended a private school in Melbourne but went back to England in 1856 and became a student at Lincoln's Inn.

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, 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.

Thomas à Beckett was an active man and continued to play tennis until an advanced age. Like other members of his family he had a keen sense of humour, and many stories are told of him and his sayings, both on and off the bench.

He was very popular with the bar, though counsel did not always appreciate his direct methods, which were aimed at preventing the unnecessary prolonging of cases. Occasionally, he would deliver what he called an "interim judgment" when he considered one party had a hopeless case.

Though good-tempered, obliging and courteous, he could be called a strong judge, and he was never afraid to dissent from his colleagues in the full court. It was found that no judge of the period had his decisions less often upset by the High Court or the Privy council, and he ranks as one of the finest equity judges Australia has known.

He was knighted as Knight Bachelor during 1909.

In 1916 the Victorian bar presented his portrait by Max Meldrum to the supreme court library, and the opportunity was taken to express the affection in which à Beckett was held. Fact|date=February 2007

Sir Thomas à Beckett died at Melbourne on 21 June 1919.

Professional

à Beckett was called to the bar in 1859 while he was still in England. He returned to Melbourne in 1860 where he established his practice as a solicitor, specializing in equity. He was lecturer in the law of procedure for several years at the University of Melbourne 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 on 30 September 1886 until 30 June 1917 on the Supreme Court of Victoria, which is the highest ranking court in the Australian State of Victoria. He retired on 31 July 1917.

References

*R. G. De B. Griffith, [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A030007b.htm'à Beckett, Sir Thomas (1836 - 1919)] ', "Australian Dictionary of Biography", Volume 3, MUP, 1969, pp 7-9.

ee also

* Judiciary of Australia
* List of Judges of the Supreme Court of Victoria
* Victorian Bar Association

External links

* [http://www.supremecourt.vic.gov.au Supreme Court of Victoria Website]