Frederic Whitcombe (15 October 1858 – 19 September 1948) was a Member of the

Western Australian Legislative Council The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly, the lower house. The two Houses ...

from 1898 to 1900. Rakaia River from Butler Saddle New Zealand Aotearoa

Born in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, New Zealand, on 15 October 1858, Frederic Whitcombe was the son of

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

Henry Whitcombe and Maria née North. Taramakau Whitcombe 140

Henry Whitcombe, after whom Whitcombe Pass in the Southern Alps is named, drowned in 1863 in the

Taramakau River The Taramakau River is a river of the West Coast Region of the South Island of New Zealand. It rises in the Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana near Harper Pass, due east of Hokitika, and runs westward for into the Tasman Sea south of Gr ...

on one of his many

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

exploration trips. Edward Cephas John Stevens was put in charge of the fund which allowed the Whitcombe boys to attend Christ's College, where Frederic was educated between 1868 and 1875. On 20 May 1869, at St. Peter's Anglican Church in

Upper Riccarton Upper Riccarton is a suburb of Christchurch. It is due west of Riccarton. Upper Riccarton is made up of residential, retail and education areas. It includes a major intersection known as "Church Corner" (the intersection of Riccarton, Main Sout ...

, Stevens married Maria Whitcombe. They had two further sons, one of whom died in infancy. Frederic Whitcombe was admitted as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

and

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

in New Zealand in 1881. He practised as a solicitor in Gisborne, and was in partnership with James Hill Williams of Leeston in the firm of J.H. Williams and Co., which declared bankruptcy in December 1883. Whitcombe was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

in 1890, and practised as a solicitor at Geraldton. On 1 March 1892 he married Alice Mein at Albany, and they had at least two sons and one daughter. By 1897 he was living at

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. On 11 May 1898, Whitcombe was elected to a North Province seat in the

. However, on 30 November 1900 the Barrister Board struck him off their roll for misappropriation of funds. Three days later he resigned his seat. By 1902, Whitcombe had returned to New Zealand, and in 1915 he was living in Christchurch. That year, he sought to be readmitted to practice as a barrister and solicitor. The request was granted by the Court of Appeal with the proviso that Whitcombe should sign a declaration stating that money owing in Western Australia be regarded as a debt, despite the statute of limitations, and that he pay costs in New Zealand. Whitcombe died on 19 September 1948.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitcombe, Frederic 1858 births 1948 deaths Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council 19th-century New Zealand lawyers Colony of Western Australia people People from the Mid West (Western Australia) People educated at Christ's College, Christchurch People from Christchurch Colony of New Zealand people Lawyers from the British Empire