Sir Archibald Michie , (1813 – 21 June 1899) was an English-born Australian lawyer, journalist, Agent-General,

Attorney-General of Victoria The Attorney-General of Victoria, in formal contexts also Attorney-General or Attorney General for Victoria, is a minister in the Government of Victoria, Australia. The Attorney-General is a senior minister in the state government and the Firs ...

and politician. Michie was born in

Maida Vale Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district consisting of the northern part of Paddington in West London, west of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn. It is also the name of its main road, on the continuous Edgware Road. Maida Vale is ...

, London, the son of Archibald Michie, a merchant. Michie junior was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and was admitted to the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

in November 1834 and called to the Bar in May 1838. In the late 1830s, Michie migrated to Sydney, Australia and married Mary Richardson in 1840. The following year he was admitted to the New South Wales barrister roll. Michie was associated with Sir James Martin and Robert Lowe (1st Viscount Sherbrooke) on the ''Atlas'' newspaper when it was founded in 1844. Around 1849, Michie returned to England for a short while and then migrated to Canada. Then he returned to Sydney and moved to Melbourne in 1852. He was admitted to practise in the Supreme Court of Victoria and became associated with

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 Thomas Turner à Beckett and arrived in Australia with his fathe ...

. Michie was appointed to the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council (VLC) is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative C ...

in November 1852, but resigned in August 1853 to focus on his legal practice. Michie was elected as a member for

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presidin ...

in 1856 and worked with Protestant liberals

Richard Heales Richard Heales (22 February 1822 – 19 June 1864), Victorian colonial politician, was the 4th Premier of Victoria. Heales was born in London, the son of Richard Heales, an ironmonger. He was apprenticed as a coachbuilder and migrated to Victor ...

, James McCulloch, Frederick Thomas Sargood and

James Service James Service (27 November 1823 – 12 April 1899), Australian colonial politician, was the 12th Premier of Victoria, Australia. Biography Service was born in Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland, the son of Robert Service. As a young man James wor ...

. Michie helped

John O'Shanassy Sir John O'Shanassy, KCMG (18 February 1818 – 5 May 1883), was an Irish-Australian politician who served as the 2nd Premier of Victoria. O'Shanassy was born near Thurles in County Tipperary, Ireland, the son of a surveyor, and came to the Po ...

to bring down the

William Haines Charles William Haines (January 2, 1900 – December 26, 1973) was an American actor and interior designer. Haines was discovered by a talent scout and signed with Goldwyn Pictures in 1922. His career gained momentum when he received favo ...

ministry in March 1857, but did not become part of O'Shanassy's government; Michie did become attorney-general, however, in the reconstructed Haines ministry from 29 April 1857 to 10 March 1858. Michie represented St Kilda October 1859 to July 1861 (and November 1864 to December 1865), Polwarth and South Grenville August 1863 to August 1864 and Ballarat West May 1870 to January 1871. Michie became Victoria's first Q.C. in 1863; from 4 August 1863 to 18 July 1866 he was minister of justice in the McCulloch ministry. From 8 April 1870 to 19 June 1871, he was attorney-general in the third McCulloch ministry. in August 1871 Michie was elected to the Central Province of the Victorian Legislative Council, a position he held until resignation in March 1873. From 1873 to 1879 Michie was Agent-General in London for Victoria and was appointed K.C.M.G. in 1878.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michie, Archibald 1813 births 1899 deaths Australian federationists Australian King's Counsel Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Agents-General for Victoria English emigrants to colonial Australia Politicians from London Lawyers from London Attorneys-General of the Colony of Victoria 19th-century Australian journalists 19th-century Australian male writers 19th-century male writers 19th-century Australian politicians Australian male journalists