James Dowling
James Dowling | |
|---|---|
 Sir James Dowling | |
| Chief Justice of New South Wales | |
| In office 1837–1844 | |
| Preceded by | Sir Francis Forbes |
| Succeeded by | Sir Alfred Stephen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 November 1787 London, England |
| Died | 27 September 1844 (aged 56) |
| Resting place | Devonshire Street Cemetery Waverley Cemetery |
| Occupation | Jurist |
Sir James Dowling (25 November 1787 – 27 September 1844) was an English-born Australian jurist in New South Wales, Chief Justice of New South Wales 1837 – 1844.[1]
Early life
[edit]James Dowling was born in London, England, the son of Vincent Dowling (1756–1825) of Queen's County, Ireland, and brother of Alfred Septimus Dowling (1805–1868), a British law reporter, Vincent George Dowling, & 2 other brothers.
Career
[edit]Following the brutal killing of 28 unarmed Aboriginal peoples in the Myall Creek massacre on 10 June 1838, Dowling presided over the first trial in which a jury acquitted eleven colonists of the murder of one person, referred to as Daddy.[2] Dowling also sat in the Full Bench which determined questions of law following the conviction of seven colonists of the murder of two children and an adult referred to as Charley.[3]
Personal life and death
[edit]At the time of his death, Dowling was preparing a volume of law reports of the decisions of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The volume was eventually published in 2005. Many of these cases are also online.[citation needed]
South Dowling Street in Sydney is named after him.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Sir James Dowling, Kt". Supreme Court of NSW. Archived from the original on 20 September 2007.
- ^ R v Kilmeister (No 1) [1838] NSWSupC 105
- ^ R v Kilmeister (No 2) [1838] NSWSupC 110.
Sources
[edit]- T.D. Castle and Bruce Kercher (eds), Dowling's Select Cases, 1828 to 1844: Decisions of the Supreme Court of New South Wales (Francis Forbes Society for Australian Legal History, Sydney, 2005).
External links
[edit]- Colonial Secretary's papers 1822-1877, State Library of Queensland- includes digitised letters written by Dowling to the Colonial Secretary of New South Wales
- Many of Dowling's cases and decisions are online at AustLii:
- Chief justices of New South Wales
- Judges of the Supreme Court of New South Wales
- 1787 births
- 1844 deaths
- Burials at Waverley Cemetery
- People educated at St Paul's School, London
- Colony of New South Wales judges
- 19th-century Australian judges
- Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council
- 19th-century Australian politicians
- Colony of New South Wales politicians