Thomas Alexander Wells (13 September 1954) was a judge of the Northern Territory Supreme Court in Darwin, Australia. He was known for having misdirected the jury in a high-profile case in 1934, which was later overturned in an appeal in the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...

known as '' Tuckiar v The King''.

Career

Wells was a court reporter for a

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

newspaper. He served overseas in WWI and on returning to Australia studied law in Sydney, where he practised at the bar for nine years after graduating. In 1933 he was appointed Judge of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory, following the retirement of

Justice Mallam Ross Ibbotson Dalton Mallam (1878 – 26 May 1954), invariably known as R. I. D. Mallam or Justice Mallam, was a judge of the Northern Territory Supreme Court. History Mallam was born in Kensington, London, and in 1902 emigrated to Adelaide, So ...

(1878–1954). He presided over some of the Territory's most high-profile trials, including the murder trial of Dhakiyarr Wirrpanda, a Yolngu man from Caledon Bay in

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia, with the term still in use. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territory capital, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compan ...

, who was convicted of murdering Constable Albert Stewart McColl at Woodah Island on 1 August 1933. This was part of a series of events known as the

Caledon Bay crisis The Caledon Bay crisis, refers to a series of killings at Caledon Bay in the Northern Territory of Australia during 1932–34, referred to in the press of the day as Caledon Bay murder(s). Five Japanese trepang fishers were killed by Aboriginal ...

Dhakiyarr was convicted of murder and sentenced to death, but seven months later this verdict was overturned in the Tuckiar v The King case. Several reasons were given for the success of the appeal, including that Judge Wells had misdirected the jury. He was regarded more benignly for ordering the doors of Fannie Bay Gaol open following the Japanese air raids in 1942, rather than have them suffer should the jail receive a direct hit. He was himself evacuated to

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...

following the air raids, returning in 1945.

Later life and legacy

He suffered a stroke in 1951, and retired the following year. He died in Darwin Hospital in September 1954. Wells Street, in the Darwin suburbs of Ludmilla and Parap, is named after him.NOTE: Wells Street in the Litchfield area, Wells Creek and Mount Wells were named for the presumably unrelated

Charles Frederick Wells Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

(died 1896), a cadet surveyor with the Goyder Survey Expedition of 1869.()

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Thomas 1880s births 1954 deaths History of the Northern Territory Judges of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory