Wilfred Blacket (27 September 1859 – 6 February 1937) was an Australian barrister. He was born in

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 ...

to clerk Russell Blacket and Alicia Jackson. He grew up at Keira Vale, where his father became the schoolmaster. He became a bank clerk at fifteen, and became a contributor to the ''

Bulletin Bulletin or The Bulletin may refer to: Periodicals (newspapers, magazines, journals) * Bulletin (online newspaper), a Swedish online newspaper * ''The Bulletin'' (Australian periodical), an Australian magazine (1880–2008) ** Bulletin Debate, ...

'', becoming its first formal sub-editor by the 1880s. During this period he also studied law, and was called to the bar in 1887. He worked mostly in the district courts, often defending accused Aborigines. He married Gertrude Louisa Lovegrove on 24 April 1894, by which time he had a successful and substantial practice. During this period he twice ran for the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

as a

Protectionist Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...

. Around 1900 Blacket became secretary to the Statute Law Consolidation Commission, but he was not appointed to the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

despite his obvious qualifications. He was royal commissioner into Federal capital administration in 1916–17. In 1912 he

took silk In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

, and practised mainly in the High Court, where he became known as a radical with unionist sympathies. In 1927 he published his memoirs, ''May It Please Your Honour''. He died at Lindfield in 1937.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blacket, Wilfred 1859 births 1937 deaths Australian barristers Australian King's Counsel Lawyers from Sydney Protectionist Party politicians Colony of New South Wales people