William Foster (1794-1866) was an Australian lawyer and politician who was Solicitor General for New South Wales and member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly.

Early years

Foster was the son of John Foster (1758–1816), a farmer and landowner of Armitstead Hall, Settle, Yorkshire, England, and his wife Jane, née Dowbiggin. He was the younger brother of John Foster (1792-1875). Both John and William studied as boarders at

Heath School Public Schools of Brookline (PSB) is the school district of Brookline, Massachusetts. it had over 7,500 students. They operate eight elementary (K-8) schools and one high school in the Town of Brookline. Schools ; Senior high school: * Brookl ...

in Halifax; William then moved on to study at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

before qualifying as a barrister at

Lincoln's Inn Fields Lincoln's Inn Fields is the largest public square in London. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a long series of entrepreneurs who took a hand in develo ...

in London. William Foster would have probably pursued a career in England but his father's death, at the age of 57, occurred just after the end of the Napoleonic Wars and coincided with a severe decline in England's

rural economy Rural economics is the study of rural economies. Rural economies include both agricultural and non-agricultural industries, so rural economics has broader concerns than agricultural economics which focus more on food systems. Rural developmen ...

that depressed product and land values for over a decade. Debts had previously been incurred in efforts to expand and develop the family estate but interest payments, together with falling returns from produce and difficulty in collecting rent from tenants, placed major pressures on the family's finances. For William, pressures were increased by the needs of establishing himself in his career as a lawyer.

New South Wales

In 1827, one of Foster's colleagues, Alexander Baxter, was offered the position of

Attorney General of New South Wales The Attorney General of New South Wales, in formal contexts also Attorney-General or Attorney General for New South Wales and usually known simply as the Attorney General, is a minister in the Government of New South Wales who has responsibil ...

. Foster decided to travel with him and migrated to

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 ...

, intending to continue his career as a barrister but, within a month, he was appointed to the newly created post of Solicitor General. Baxter was a dashing figure but totally incompetent as a lawyer and relied heavily on Foster to perform his duties. In 1829 Foster was appointed chairman of the Courts of Quarter Sessions. In 1838 Foster, along with

William à Beckett Sir William à Beckett (28 July 1806 – 27 June 1869) was a British barrister and the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria. Background Born in London, he was the eldest son of William à Beckett, also a solicitor. His younger b ...

and

Richard Windeyer Richard Windeyer (10 August 1806 – 2 December 1847) was a journalist, barrister and Australian politician. Early life Richard Windeyer was born in London, the eldest of nine children of Charles Windeyer, first recognised reporter in the House ...

, defended the 11 colonists charged with murder in relation to the

Myall Creek massacre The Myall Creek massacre was the killing of at least twenty-eight unarmed Indigenous Australians by twelve colonists on 10 June 1838 at the Myall Creek near the Gwydir River, in northern New South Wales. After two trials, seven of the twelve c ...

. From 1843 to 1845 he was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. William's brother, John, had already migrated to Tasmania in 1822, together with their mother and youngest brother, Henry. John was also a politician and was elected to the

Tasmanian Legislative Council The Tasmanian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. It is one of the two chambers of the Parliament, the other being the House of Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in the state capital, ...

as the member for Huon from 1868 to 1874.

Private life

Foster married Mary Anne Green in 1817. They had four children. After Mary Anne died in 1856, he married Angelina Job, with whom he had a son, born in England in 1859.

Return to England

Foster returned to England in 1854 and settled in Brighton but his first wife, Mary Anne died only two years later and he remarried in 1858. After what appears to have been a happy retirement, Foster died at his home in Brighton on 2 February 1866, aged 72.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, William Solicitors General for New South Wales 1794 births 1866 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council 19th-century Australian politicians English emigrants to colonial Australia People from Craven District Politicians from Yorkshire People educated at Heath Grammar School