Sir Thomas à Beckett (31 August 1836 – 21 June 1919) was an Australian

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 ...

and

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

Personal

Thomas à Beckett was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. He was the eldest son of

Thomas Turner à Beckett Thomas Turner à Beckett (13 September 1808 – 1 July 1892) was a lawyer and politician in colonial Victoria (Australia), member of the Victorian Legislative Council. Early life à Beckett was born in London, England, son of William à Becket ...

and arrived in Australia with his father (brother of Sir

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 ...

) in January 1851, arriving in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

on the ''Andromache''. À Beckett attended a private school in Melbourne but went back to England in 1856 and on 18 May 1857 became a student at

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.) Lincol ...

, being called to the bar on 17 November 1857. He returned to Victoria, and was admitted to the bar there on 16 August 1860, and practised before the

Supreme Court of Victoria The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in 1852, it is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited and inherent jurisdiction within the state. The Supreme Court compri ...

. In 1866 he was made a puisne judge of the Victorian Supreme Court and was frequently required to act as Victoria's Chief Justice. In 1875 à Beckett married Isabella, the daughter of Sir

Archibald Michie Sir Archibald Michie , (1813 – 21 June 1899) was an English-born Australian lawyer, journalist, Agent-General, Attorney-General of Victoria and politician. Michie was born in Maida Vale, London, the son of Archibald Michie, a merchant. Mich ...

, who survived him with two sons and three daughters. A younger brother, Edward à Beckett (1844-1932), was a portrait painter. Examples of his work are at the Supreme Court, Melbourne. He was knighted as

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are ...

during 1909. In 1916 the

Victorian bar The Victorian Bar is the bar association of the Australian State of Victoria. The current President of the Bar is Roisin Annesley KC. Its members are barristers registered to practice in Victoria. On 30 June 2020, there were 2,179 counsels ...

presented his portrait by

Max Meldrum Duncan Max Meldrum (3 December 1875 – 6 June 1955) was a Scottish-born Australian artist and art teacher, best known as the founder of Australian tonalism, a representational painting style that became popular in Melbourne during the interwa ...

to the Supreme Court library, and the opportunity was taken to express the affection in which à Beckett was held. Sir Thomas à Beckett died at Melbourne on 21 June 1919.

Professional

À Beckett 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 1859 while he was still in England. He returned to Melbourne in 1860 where he established his practice as a

, specializing in equity. He was lecturer in the law of procedure for several years at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb ...

from 1874 onwards, and had been leader of the equity bar for some time when he was appointed a supreme court judge in September 1886. À Beckett served as a judge from 30 September 1886 until 30 June 1917 on the

. He retired on 31 July 1917.

References

External links

Supreme Court of Victoria Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abeckett, Thomas 1836 births 1919 deaths Judges of the Supreme Court of Victoria Lawyers from London University of Melbourne faculty Colony of Victoria judges Australian Knights Bachelor 19th-century English lawyers English emigrants to colonial Australia

Personal

Professional

See also

References

External links