Robert Bruce Burnside (22 April 1862 – 8 August 1929) was an Australian barrister and judge. He served on 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 ...

from December 1902 until his death. Burnside was born in

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of the Bahamas. With a population of 274,400 as of 2016, or just over 70% of the entire population of the Bahamas, Nassau is commonly defined as a primate city, dwarfing all other towns in the country. ...

, to Mary Elizabeth (née Francis) and Robert Bruce Lockhart Burnside. His father was the colony's solicitor-general at the time, and later served as

Chief Justice of Ceylon The Chief Justice of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the head of the judiciary of Sri Lanka and the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. Established in 1801, the Chief Justice is one of ten Supreme Court justices; the other nine are ...

. After attending the

Royal Naval School The Royal Naval School was an English school that was established in Camberwell, London, in 1833 and then formally constituted by the Royal Naval College Act 1840. It was a charitable institution, established as a boarding school for the sons of ...

in London, Burnside studied law, training as a barrister. He entered

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 ...

in 1881 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 1884, leaving for Western Australia later that year. He initially had his own firm in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, but later went into partnership with

Douglas Gawler Douglas George Gawler (9 November 1860 – 6 May 1915) was an Australian lawyer and politician who was a member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia from 1910 until his death, representing Metropolitan-Suburban Province. Gawler was ...

(a future member of parliament) in

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

. In January 1891, Burnside was appointed to the position of

Usher of the Black Rod Black Rod (officially known as the Lady Usher of the Black Rod or, if male, the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod) is an official in the parliaments of several Commonwealth countries. The position originates in the House of Lords of the Parliam ...

in the Legislative Council. He served until July 1894, when he was instead made crown solicitor (equivalent to solicitor-general). In December 1902, Burnside was appointed to the vacant fourth position on the Supreme Court, as a

puisne justice A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...

. He succeeded

Frederick Moorhead Frederick William Moorhead KC (1863 – 27 November 1902) was an Australian barrister, politician, and judge. He was born in Ireland and emigrated to Western Australia in 1889. Moorhead was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Austr ...

, who had died after only seven months in office, and joined Edward Stone (the chief justice),

Stephen Henry Parker Sir Stephen Henry Parker (7 November 1846 – 13 December 1927) was a lawyer and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia from 1906 to 1914. Biography Early life Stephen Henry Parker was the second son of Stephen Stanley Park ...

, and Robert McMillan on the bench. Early in 1903, Burnside was made president of the State Court of Arbitration, a position which at the time was held only by justices of the Supreme Court. He served several terms in the position, totalling almost ten years, and was generally considered impartial. Burnside also occasionally presided over criminal trials, and headed two royal commissions in the late 1910s. Burnside died at his home in Claremont in August 1929, after a brief period of ill health."MR. JUSTICE BURNSIDE DIES."
'' The Western Mail'', 15 August 1929. He had married Mary Charity Bruce in 1887, with whom he had one son. Outside of his professional career, he had a keen interest in water sport, serving as president of the

West Australian Rowing Club The West Australian Rowing Club is a rowing club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club has operated out of a boatshed next to Barrack Square Barrack Square is an open public square on the foreshore of Perth Water on the Swan River, loc ...

and commodore of the

Royal Perth Yacht Club The Royal Perth Yacht Club (RPYC) is a yacht club in Perth, Western Australia. It is the third oldest yacht club in Australia after the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria and the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnside, Robert Bruce 1862 births 1929 deaths Australian barristers Bahamian emigrants to Australia English barristers Judges of the Supreme Court of Western Australia People educated at the Royal Naval School People from Nassau, Bahamas Public servants of Western Australia Members of Lincoln's Inn