Ellis Bent (1783 – 10 November 1815) was the Deputy Judge Advocate between 1810 and 1815 of the Australian colony of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, which was eventually to become an Australian state. The

Deputy Judge Advocate of New South Wales The Judge Advocate of New South Wales, also referred to as the Deputy Judge Advocate was a ranking judicial officer in the Colony of New South Wales until the abolition of the role in 1823. Before the First Fleet sailed from England to colonise ...

was the senior legal officer of the colony and functioned in many ways as a Chief Justice. Bent was the first

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 ...

to be appointed to a judicial office in the infant colony in an era when military officers were commonly appointed to the position. Bent Street in Sydney, Bent's Basin and Ellis Bent Road, Greendale near the

Warragamba Dam Warragamba Dam is a heritage-listed dam in the outer South Western Sydney suburb of Warragamba, New South Wales, Warragamba, Wollondilly Shire in New South Wales, Australia. It is a concrete gravity dam, which creates Lake Burragorang, the prima ...

are named after him.

Early years and education

Bent was born in 1783 although his birthdate is sometimes recorded as 1779.Serle He was the second son of the merchant, ship owner and MP

Robert Bent Robert Bent (c. 1745 – 1832), of 46 Portugal Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, Middlesex and West Molesey, Surrey, was an English politician. He was a member of parliament for Aylesbury 1802 to 29 February 1804. He was unseated for petition on ...

, and the younger brother of Jeffery Bent. He grew up in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, England on the family estate Moulsey. He was educated at

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...

and was awarded a Bachelor of Arts in 1804 and a Master of Arts in 1807. He was called to the Bar in 1805 practising in England for a number of years. He was described as a tall and rather heavy man, and his health was poor.

Judge-advocate

He was appointed by

Lord Bathurst Earl Bathurst, of Bathurst in the County of Sussex, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. The medieval English word was Botehurst, thought to date at least from the 13th century. Bote is the origination of Battle, although the family m ...

as the deputy judge-advocate of the colony of

as from 1 January 1809. He arrived at Sydney on 1 January 1810 on board HMS ''Dromedary'', which happened to be carrying the new

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the ...

Lachlan Macquarie Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; gd, Lachann MacGuaire; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie se ...

. Bent took over from his predecessor Richard Atkins who was generally regarded in the colony as incompetent. The role of deputy judge-advocate (commonly referred to as the "judge-advocate") placed Bent as the primary judicial member of the colony. He presided with six military officers in the

Court of Criminal Jurisdiction The Court of Criminal Jurisdiction was a criminal court established in 1787 under the auspices of the First Charter of Justice in the British Empire of New South Wales, now a state of Australia. The Court of Criminal Jurisdiction was the first cri ...

, which was the only criminal court of colony which dealt with serious criminal crimes and was the only court which could sentence a person to death. He also presided with two nominees appointed by the governor in the

Court of Civil Jurisdiction The Court of Civil Jurisdiction was a court established in the late 18th century, in the colony of New South Wales which subsequently became a state of Australia. The court had jurisdiction to deal with all civil disputes in the then fledgling colo ...

, which was the principal civil court of the colony. He held a commission to preside in the Vice-Admiralty Court to deal with admiralty issues that arose from time to time. He lastly presided with another magistrate as the Bench of Magistrates to deal with less serious criminal matters in Sydney. Bent was well regarded by Macquarie initially, and set about his role of judge-advocate with vigor and good faith. In recognition, Macquarie had a new residence built for Bent, which was completed in June 1812.

Legal reform in the colony

Bent made recommendations to Lord Bathurst concerning the administration of justice in the colony. Some of these related to the introduction of

jury trial A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a Trial, legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or Question of law, findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or Judicial panel, panel of judges makes all decisions. ...

in the colony and the creation of a new superior court to deal with civil matters. For this latter court, he proposed that a judge be appointed to sit with two magistrates. Macquarie recommended that the plan be adopted and suggested to the English authorities that Bent should be made the first judge of any such court created. Bent was passed over for the position, and instead it was offered to his brother Jeffrey Bent. The establishment of this latter court, the

Supreme Court of Civil Judicature The Supreme Court of Civil Judicature of New South Wales was a court established in the early 19th century in the colony of New South Wales. The colony was subsequently to become a state of Australia in 1901. The court had jurisdiction to deal wit ...

(commonly referred to as the Supreme Court) lessened the workload of Bent as the Court of Civil Jurisdiction over which he presided was abolished as a result of the establishment of that Supreme Court. Bent was quite progressive for the time. He allowed ex-convict lawyers to appear before his court when such a course was not possible in England under English law. He did this by allowing them to appear as agents of the parties, rather than formally admitting the lawyers as officers of the court. This met with general approval in the colony as it was a practical solution which facilitated the application of justice in the colony at a time when the colony was in its infancy. It has to be remembered that Bent was the first lawyer to emigrate to the colony of his own free will.

Later years

Macquarie and Bent were to be at loggerheads in the later years of Bent's appointment. They firstly disagreed over the independence of the judiciary, something that is taken for granted today in

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

countries. Macquarie took the view that Bent's commission required him to obey the orders and directions of the governor in all times. Bent took the view that he should only obey the "lawful" instructions of the governor. Secondly, Bent came under the influence of his brother. Unfortunately, Bent's brother proved to be the opposite of Bent and was obstructive at every possible time. Whilst Bent had been initially progressive in allowing convict lawyers to appear in the

to assist litigants as agents, he sided with his brother that they should not be allowed to appear in the newly created Supreme Court of Civil Judicature to which his brother had been appointed. This raised Macquarie's ire as it impeded the ability of the new court to function. Lastly, Bent clashed with Macquarie over the introduction of new shipping rules for the colony. Bent had initially concurred with Macquarie's shipping rules in 1810. However, in 1814, when Macquarie provided a draft set of revised rules, Bent found them to be unnecessary and some to be illegal.

Closing days

The mounting differences between Macquarie, Bent and Bent's brother led Macquarie to write to Lord Bathurst offering to resign unless both Bents were removed from office. Bathurst did so in January 1816, siding with Macquarie rather than the Bents. Before notification of Bent's dismissal arrived in the colony, Bent had died on 10 November 1815. Bent left a widow and four children, and a fifth child was born subsequently to his death. Unfortunately, he left no estate to his wife and children on his death. Macquarie graciously wrote to Lord Bathurst recommending the payment of a pension to widow in view of Bent's services to the colony. Bathurst approved, and a pension of £200 a year was granted to Mrs Bent in 1817. She subsequently returned to England. Ellis Bent Headstone Botany Bay Cemetery

Ellis Bent Headstone Botany Bay Cemetery

Burial

Bent was buried at

Old Sydney Burial Ground The Old Sydney Burial Ground is the site of Sydney's inaugural permanent cemetery, located near the current corner of George Street and Druitt Street. Established in September 1792, the cemetery was closed in 1820, when the Devonshire Street C ...

, now the site of

Sydney Town Hall The Sydney Town Hall is a late 19th-century heritage-listed town hall building in the city of Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales, Australia, housing the chambers of the Lord Mayor of Sydney, council offices, and venues for meetings and ...

. He was buried there rather than at Garden Island (upon which Bent had a lease) because of his earlier disagreements with Macquarie. In 1823 Bent's remains were removed from the Old Burial Ground and placed in a vault on Garden Island. Later, after 1825 when Brevet-Major John Ovens died, he was also removed to Garden Island in accordance with Bent's earlier wishes. Later, his sandstone tomb was transferred to the Rest Park in St Thomas' Cemetery. His headstone is located at the Botany Cemetery,

Eastern Suburbs Eastern Suburbs may refer to: Places *Eastern Suburbs (Mumbai), India *Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Australia **Eastern Suburbs railway line, Sydney, Australia Sports clubs ;Association football *Eastern Suburbs AFC, Auckland, New Zealand * Eastern ...

of Sydney. where many of the headstones from the old Devonshire Street Cemetery were relocated.

References

Sources

*C. H. Currey,
Bent, Ellis (1783–1815)
, ''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'', Online Edition, Copyright 2006, Australian National University * * Alex Castles, An Australian Legal History, Law Book Co, 1975. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bent, Ellis English barristers English emigrants to colonial Australia 18th-century births 1815 deaths Colony of New South Wales judges Judge Advocates of New South Wales 19th-century Australian judges Burials at Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park 19th-century English lawyers