Sir Herbert Nicholls (11 August 1868 – 11 November 1940) was an Australian judge and politician, who was Chief Justice of Tasmania from 1914 to 1937, and as an independent member of the

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart. The Assembly has 25 m ...

from 1900 to 1909. In parliament, he served as Attorney-General (1903 to 1904) and Leader of the Opposition (1906 to 1909).

Early life

Nicholls was born in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

, Victoria in 1868, to the English journalist Henry Richard (H. R.) Nicholls and his Irish-born wife Ellen Minchin. He was educated in Ballarat, until his family moved to

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

, Tasmania in 1883 so his father could take up the editorship of ''

The Mercury Mercury most commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * M ...

'' newspaper.

Legal career

After working as a mail clerk, Nicholls was

articled Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

Andrew Inglis Clark Andrew Inglis Clark (24 February 1848 – 14 November 1907) was an Australian founding father and co-author of the Australian Constitution; he was also an engineer, barrister, politician, electoral reformer and jurist. He initially qualified as a ...

and Matthew Wilkes Simmons, and was admitted to the Bar in 1892. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...

in 1896, and became a barrister.

Political career

At a 1900 by-election, Nicholls was elected as an independent member of the

, representing the multi-member

electoral district of Hobart The electoral district of Hobart was a multi-member electoral district of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. It was based in Tasmania's capital city, Hobart. It was created at the 1897 election under a trial of the Hare-Clark electoral model alon ...

until 1903 when he became the sole member for Central Hobart. From 1903 to 1904, Nicholls held two ministries in the cabinet of

William Propsting William Bispham Propsting, CMG (4 June 1861 – 3 December 1937) was an Australian politician and member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly, who served as Premier of Tasmania from 9 April 1903 to 11 July 1904. Early life Propsting was born in ...

: Attorney-General and Minister administering the Education Act. As Attorney-General, Nicholls represented police superintendent Frederick Pedder, the respondent in the landmark High Court case ''

D'Emden v Pedder ''D'Emden v Pedder''. was a significant Australian court case decided in the High Court of Australia on 26 April 1904. It directly concerned the question of whether salary receipts of federal government employees were subject to state stamp dut ...

''. On 29 May 1906, following the state election the eight opposition members of the House of Assembly voted for Nicholls as their leader. In December 1908, the cabinet of John Evans unanimously decided to appoint

Alfred Dobson Alfred Dobson may refer to: * Alfred Dobson (footballer) * Alfred Dobson (politician) {{hndis, Dobson, Alfred ...

, Tasmania's Agent-General in London, as third judge of the

Supreme Court of Tasmania The Supreme Court of Tasmania is the highest State court in the Australian State of Tasmania. In the Australian court hierarchy, the Supreme Court of Tasmania is in the middle level, with both an appellate jurisdiction over lower courts, and de ...

. Dobson declined the appointment for personal reasons, and Nicholls was offered the role and accepted. He resigned from the Tasmanian Parliament on 1 January 1909.

Judicial career

When the Chief Justice of Tasmania, Sir John Dodds, died in office in June 1914, Nicholls was appointed as his replacement. As chief justice, Nicholls served as Administrator of Tasmania on occasions when the

Governor of Tasmania The governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The incumbent governor is Barbara Baker, who was appointed in June 2021. The official residence of the ...

was absent from the state, or in between the appointment of governors to the role. Nicholls was serving as administrator in October 1923, when the

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

government of

Sir Walter Lee Sir Walter Lee or Walter Attelee (c. 1350–1395), of Albury, Hertfordshire, was an English politician. Life Lee was born in either 1348 or 1353. He was the son and heir of Sir John Lee of Albury, who died in 1370, and was the stewart of the hous ...

lost a confidence motion on the floor of the house. Nicholls refused to dissolve the parliament and call an election, and appointed

Joseph Lyons Joseph Aloysius Lyons (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was an Australian politician who served as the List of prime ministers of Australia by time in office, 10th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1932 until his death in 1939. He ...

as Premier of a minority

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

government when Lee resigned. Nicholls was lieutenant-governor and administrator of the state for nearly three years from December 1930 to August 1933 between the end of Sir James O'Grady's term and the appointment of Sir Ernest Clark.

Honours

Nicholls was made Knight Bachelor in 1916 for his work as chief justice. In 1927, he was made a Knight Commander of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(KCMG). Lake Nicholls in

Mount Field National Park Mount Field National Park is a national park in Tasmania, Australia, 64 km northwest of Hobart. The landscape ranges from eucalyptus temperate rainforest to alpine moorland, rising to 1,434 metres (4,705 ft) at the summit of Mount Fi ...

is named after him. Nicholls was a frequent visitor to the western highlands region where the lake is located, which was a practically unexplored area at the time.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholls, Herbert 1868 births 1940 deaths Chief Justices of Tasmania Judges of the Supreme Court of Tasmania Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly Independent members of the Parliament of Tasmania Attorneys-General of Tasmania Leaders of the Opposition in Tasmania Australian barristers Australian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian Knights Bachelor Australian politicians awarded knighthoods University of Tasmania alumni Australian people of English descent Australian people of Irish descent People from Ballarat