Butler Cole Aspinall (11 November 1830 – 4 April 1875) was a British-born journalist, barrister who migrated with his young wife to Melbourne, Australia, at first as an editor and writer for '' The Argus''. He soon took up his lucrative legal practice as a defence advocate and later as a politician in the state of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. Aspinall was one of the chief counsel for the leaders of the Ballarat Riots, also known as

Eureka Stockade The Eureka Rebellion was a series of events involving gold miners who revolted against the British administration of the colony of Victoria, Australia during the Victorian gold rush. It culminated in the Battle of the Eureka Stockade, which ...

, and later defended

Henry James O'Farrell Henry James O'Farrell (183321 April 1868) was the first person to attempt a political assassination in Australia. On 12 March 1868, he shot and wounded Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria. Biog ...

for the attempted assassination of

Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh Alfred (Alfred Ernest Albert; 6 August 184430 July 1900) was the sovereign duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 1893 to 1900. He was the second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. He was known as the Duke of Edinburgh from 1 ...

. He was briefly appointed as

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

in 1861 and Solicitor-General in 1870. Aspinall died in April 1875 in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, England.

Biography and career

The son of the Reverend James Aspinall, Butler Cole Aspinall was born in Liverpool,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, England, in 1830, educated for the law, and was called to the Bar in 1853. He engaged in newspaper work, contributing to the ''

Morning Chronicle ''The Morning Chronicle'' was a newspaper founded in 1769 in London. It was notable for having been the first steady employer of essayist William Hazlitt as a political reporter and the first steady employer of Charles Dickens as a journalist. It ...

'' and other London papers. In 1854, he came to Melbourne as a law reporter for ''The Argus'', and also contributed to the ''Morning Herald'', ''Age'', and ''Melbourne Punch''. He soon began to practise as a barrister and gained a great reputation as an advocate, and as a wit and humorist.

Eureka Stockade trial

In February 1855, Aspinall was one of the counsel for the leaders of the Eureka Rebellion.

Politics

In 1856, Aspinall was elected a member of 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 ...

for

Talbot Talbot was an automobile marque introduced in 1902 by English-French company Clément-Talbot. The founders, Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury and Adolphe Clément-Bayard, reduced their financial interests in their Clément-Talbot ...

. He also represented Castlemaine (1859–60), Geelong East (1861–64),

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

(1866–67) and St Kilda (1868–1870). At the end of July 1861 he became Attorney-General in the

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 ...

ministry, but the cabinet resigned a few weeks later. He resigned as member for St Kilda on 1 January 1870, was appointed Solicitor-General in the John MacPherson ministry, on 19 January 1870, before resigning on 9 April 1870 with the rest of the ministry.

Court practice

Aspinall was a first-rate advocate and a good parliamentary debater, but he broke down when 40 years old, an age when most men are scarcely past the beginning of their career. He had much charm of manner, and stories of his wit and humour were still being told in legal circles 70 years after his death. The ''

Dictionary of Australian Biography The ''Dictionary of Australian Biography'', published in 1949, is a reference work by Percival Serle containing information on notable people associated with Australian history. With approximately a thousand entries, the book took more than ...

'' quotes one example of his inspired impudence, which arose out of a brush with a Victorian judge.

Henry James O'Farrell trial

In 1868 Aspinall defended Henry James O'Farrell at Sydney for the attempted assassination of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, and from January to April 1870 he was solicitor-general in the

John Alexander MacPherson John Alexander MacPherson (15 October 1833 – 17 February 1894), Australian colonial politician, was the 7th Premier of Victoria. MacPherson was born at his father's property of ''Springbank'' on the Limestone Plains, in New South Wales ( ...

ministry. Towards the end of this year he resigned his seat in parliament, and in 1871 had a mental breakdown and was confined for some time. On recovering he returned to England and died there on 4 April 1875. He was married and his wife, who had been left in Melbourne, died six days later.

Personal life

A son, also called Butler Cole Aspinall, who was educated in England, became a London barrister and an authority on shipping law. He died unmarried in London on 15 November 1935.''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', 16 November 1935

References

* J. H. Heaton, ''

Australian Dictionary of Dates Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

''; * J. L. Forde, ''The Story of the Bar of Victoria''; * '' The Bulletin'', 15 January 1936. {{DEFAULTSORT:Aspinall 1830 births 1875 deaths 19th-century Australian lawyers Attorneys-General of the Colony of Victoria Solicitors-General of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly 19th-century Australian politicians English emigrants to colonial Australia