Sir Frederick William Richards (1869-1957), commonly known as F. W. Richards, was an Australian jurist. He served as a senior puisne Judge on the

Supreme Court of South Australia The Supreme Court of South Australia is the superior court of the Australian state of South Australia. The Supreme Court is the highest South Australian court in the Australian court hierarchy. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in ...

until his retirement in December 1945, following a lengthy and illustrious career in public service. Richards had held the position of Justice on the court since 1927. Born as the son of the Rev. William Richards, a longstanding resident of the State, Frederick Richards commenced his education in the public schools of South Australia. At the age of 14, he enrolled at Shebbear College in Devon, England, which was also attended by Sir

Samuel Way Sir Samuel James Way, 1st Baronet, (11 April 1836 – 8 January 1916) was an English-Australian jurist who served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia from 18 March 1876 until 8 January 1916. Background Way was born in P ...

and the Rev. J. Thome. In 1887 he matriculated at

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

, achieving remarkable academic success and obtaining an LLB degree in 1894. A year later, he further distinguished himself by earning a Doctor of Law degree from the same university. Returning to Australia, Frederick Richards spent four years as managing clerk, two in the office of Sir

Josiah Symon Sir Josiah Henry Symon (27 September 184629 March 1934) was an Australian lawyer and politician. He was a Senator for South Australia from 1901 to 1913 and Attorney-General of Australia from 1904 to 1905. Symon was born in Wick, Caithness, Sco ...

, and with Messrs. C. C. Kingston and McLachlan. In 1901 he was appointed associate to Chief Justice, Sir Samuel Way. In 1908 he received the appointment of Parliamentary Draftsman and Assistant Crown Solicitor, and in 1916 he was appointed Crown Solicitor. In 1921 he took silk, and in 1925 and 1926 was an acting judge of the

. He was appointed a Judge in 1927. He was knighted in 1946.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Frederick 1869 births 1957 deaths Australian Knights Bachelor Judges of the Supreme Court of South Australia Colony of South Australia people