The Judge Advocate of New South Wales, also referred to as the Deputy Judge Advocate was a ranking judicial officer in the Colony of New South Wales until the abolition of the role in 1823. Before the First Fleet sailed from England to colonise New South Wales, Marine Captain David Collins was appointed Deputy Judge Advocate of the colony, and Judge Advocate of the marines. The Judge Advocate held office in several courts. #He was one of a bench of two

justices of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

in the

Magistrates' Court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) * Magistrate's Cou ...

. #He was president of the

Court of Criminal Jurisdiction The Court of Criminal Jurisdiction was a criminal court established in 1787 under the auspices of the First Charter of Justice in the British Empire of New South Wales, now a state of Australia. The Court of Criminal Jurisdiction was the first cri ...

. #He was one of a bench of three judges in the Court of Civil Jurisdiction until its abolition in 1814. #In the Court of Appeal of New South Wales, he was advisor to the colony's Governor, who was the sole appeal judge. From 1814, #He was assessor of the High Court of Appeal of New South Wales. #He was one of a bench of three magistrates in the Governors Court. David Collins held office from 1788 until 1796. He was temporarily replaced by Richard Bowyer Atkins until

Richard Dore Richard Dore (1749–1800) was an attorney, deputy judge advocate and secretary to the governor of the Colony of New South Wales, Australia in the late 18th century. He was the second person to hold office as deputy judge advocate, a position ...

arrived in 1798. Dore was the first judge-advocate with legal qualifications. He died in 1800. Atkins was re-appointed and held office until late 1809, although he was temporarily deposed during the

Rum Rebellion The Rum Rebellion of 1808 was a ''coup d'état'' in the then-British penal colony of New South Wales, staged by the New South Wales Corps in order to depose Governor William Bligh. Australia's first and only military coup, the name derives fr ...

of 1808. At the end of 1809, Ellis Bent, a barrister, arrived from England to take up the appointment as judge-advocate. He held the office until his death on 10 November 1815.

List of Judge Advocates

Notes

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite web, title=Judge Advocate of New South Wales, url=https://search.records.nsw.gov.au/permalink/f/1ebnd1l/ORGANISATIONS1001160 , website=State Records, publisher=Government of New South Wales , access-date=2021-04-12 New South Wales law Australian penal colony administrators