John Fletcher Hargrave (28 December 1815 – 23 February 1885) was a British-born Australian politician and judge. Hargrave was born to Joshua Hargrave and Sarah Hargrave (née Lee) at

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

, England. His father was a hardware merchant. He was educated at King's College, London in 1830 winning a certificate of honour for rhetoric. He went on to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

and was awarded a Bachelor of Arts in 1837 and a Masters of Arts in 1840. He enrolled at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

and was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1841. He married his cousin Ann Hargrave on 20 September 1843. They were to have three sons and a daughter. He retired from the bar in 1851 and some time after was committed to an asylum at

Colney Hatch Colney Hatch () is the historical name for a small district within the London Borough of Barnet in London, England. Colney Hatch refers to a loosely defined area centred on the northern end of Colney Hatch Lane (B550), which connects Friern ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

by his wife and he gradually recovered there. He never forgave his wife for this. He migrated to Sydney,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in February 1857. He was admitted to the New South Wales bar on his arrival and became a judge of the District Court. His wife returned to England because he could not endure her presence. He resigned from the bench in February 1859 as his judgeship was "disastrous for women suitors" as he regularly decided against them. Following his resignation, he was appointed

Solicitor General for New South Wales Solicitor General for New South Wales, known informally as the Solicitor General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Attorney General. They can exercise the powers of the Attorney General in the Attorney General's a ...

on 21 February 1859 in the second Cowper ministry and held that appointment until 26 October of that year. He was not a member of parliament at the time he was appointed Solicitor General and

Robert Owen Robert Owen (; 14 May 1771 – 17 November 1858) was a Welsh textile manufacturer, philanthropist and social reformer, and a founder of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement. He strove to improve factory working conditions, promoted e ...

, the member for East Camden, was appointed to the District Court to replace Hargrave, and Hargrave in turn replaced Owen as the member for East Camden at the resulting by-election. East Camden was abolished in 1859, partly replaced by

Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal region in the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongo ...

, and Hargrave was successful at the election on 15 June, but only served until 11 October 1859, when he resigned to accept an appointment to the Legislative Council. On 12 October 1859 he was appointed to the Legislative Council, filling the vacant role of Representative of the Government in the Legislative Council. When the second Cowper ministry resigned, Hargreave was reappointed Solicitor General in the

Forster ministry The Forster ministry was the fifth ministry of the New South Wales, Colony of New South Wales, and was led by William Forster (Australian politician), William Forster. Forster was elected in the first free elections for the New South Wales Legi ...

on 3 November and held it till 8 March 1860. He was appointed

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 the first Robertson ministry from 2 April 1860, retaining the position in the third Cowper ministry until 31 July 1863. Hargreave controversially accepted the lesser role of Solicitor General to allow

John Darvall Sir John Bayley Darvall (19 November 1809 – 28 December 1883) was an Australian barrister, politician and beneficiary of slavery. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council between 1844 and 1856 and again between 1861 and 1863 ...

to be appointed Attorney General. He was appointed

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

on 7 August 1863. Hargreave was Solicitor General from 1 August 1863 and 15 October 1863 and again in the fourth Cowper ministry from 3 February until 21 June 1865. Hargreave resigned from the Legislative Council on 23 June 1865. In Parliament he was on the: *Standing Orders Committee, *Elections and Qualifications Committee, *Burwood Tramroad Continuation Act Amendment Bill Committee, *Late Shipwrecks Committee *Port Jackson Committee; and *the Australian Agricultural Company's Newcastle Railway Bill Committee. He was appointed a judge of the

Supreme Court of New South Wales The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. Whilst the Supreme Court i ...

on 22 June 1865 but his swearing-in was boycotted by the New South Wales Bar. He was the Judge in divorce appointed to the Divorce Division of the Court. He proved to be a disaster on the bench and he admitted that he did not sit before 11am or work after 1pm. He retired as a judge in 1881. He became reader in general jurisprudence at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

and gave his first lecture on 3 August 1858. His course of twenty lectures were published in 1878. He died at

Rushcutters Bay Rushcutters Bay is a harbourside Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 3 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government ar ...

on and was buried in

Waverley Cemetery The Waverley Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on top of the cliffs at Bronte in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Opened in 1877 and built by R. Watkins (cemetery lodge, 1878) and P. Beddie (cemetery office, 1915 ...

. His wife Ann died on the North Shore on 29 October 1885 (aged 66). His brother

Richard Hargrave Richard Hargrave (1 February 1817 – 19 January 1905) was an Australian politician and a pastoralist. Hargrave was born to Joshua Hargrave and Sarah Hargrave (née Lee) on 1 February 1817 at Greenwich, England. His father was a hardware merch ...

also served in the New South Wales Parliament after arriving in New South Wales in 1838. His son

Lawrence Hargrave Lawrence Hargrave, MRAeS, (29 January 18506 July 1915) was a British-born Australian engineer, explorer, astronomer, inventor and aeronautical pioneer. Biography Lawrence Hargrave was born in Greenwich, England, the second son of John Fletch ...

was the inventor of the box or cellular kite. Hargrave's great, great nephew

Rick Colless Richard Hargrave Colless (born 12 November 1952) is an Australian politician. Colless was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 2000 to 2019, representing the National Party. Early years and background Colless was born in ...

was a member of the Legislative Council.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hargrave, John 1815 births 1885 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Judges of the Supreme Court of New South Wales Australian barristers Alumni of King's College London Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Australian King's Counsel Attorneys General of the Colony of New South Wales Solicitors General for New South Wales Colony of New South Wales judges 19th-century Australian politicians 19th-century Australian judges Judges of the District Court of NSW