Sir Francis Theodore Page Burt (14 June 1918 – 8 September 2004) was an Australian

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

who served as the 11th Chief Justice of Western Australia, from 1977 to 1988, and the 27th Governor of Western Australia, from 1990 to 1993. Burt was born in Cottesloe, a suburb of Perth Western Australia, and educated at Guildford Grammar School. He studied law at the University of Western Australia, and also served in the Royal Australian Navy and the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

during the Second World War. Burt was made a justice of the

Supreme Court of Western Australia The Supreme Court of Western Australia is the highest state court in the Australian State of Western Australia. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters (although it usually only hears matters involving sums of A$750,00 ...

in 1969, and was promoted to Chief Justice in 1977. As Chief Justice, he served as lieutenant-governor. When the Governor of Western Australia, Gordon Reid, resigned in 1989, Burt was appointed to succeed him and served as governor until 1993.

Biography

Born in Mosman Park, Western Australia, Burt's great-grandfather, Sir Archibald Burt, was Chief Justice of Western Australia from 1861 to 1879, while his grandfather, Septimus Burt, was Attorney-General and Agent-General when

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive bran ...

was granted to Western Australia in December 1890. Archibald Burt had been a slaveholder in the West Indies. Burt was educated at Guildford Grammar School and later studied law at the University of Western Australia. During the Second World War he served in the Royal Australian Navy and the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

. After being admitted to the Bar in 1941, Burt gained his skills as a Queen's Counsel in 1959, and in 1961 founded the independent

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in Western Australia. With others, he established Bar Chambers in 1962. He was appointed as a Justice of the

in 1969, a position he held until 1977 when he was promoted to Chief Justice of Western Australia. He retired in 1988. Burt was afforded a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

on his death in 2004. He is buried at Karrakatta Cemetery. The Francis Burt Chambers located in Allendale Square, Perth, and the Francis Burt Law Education Centre and Museum in Stirling Gardens are both named in his honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burt, Francis 1918 births 2004 deaths Australian jurists Royal Australian Air Force officers Australian King's Counsel Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery Chief Justices of Western Australia Judges of the Supreme Court of Western Australia Companions of the Order of Australia Governors of Western Australia Australian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George People educated at Guildford Grammar School Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Australian Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century King's Counsel University of Western Australia alumni