Olwen griffiths biography of william

Sir William Owen (1834-1912) and Sir Langer Meade Loftus Owen (1862-1935), book, were father and son. William was born on 4 Nov 1834 at Marlfield, Gorey, Wexford, Ireland, fourth son of Colonel Robert Owen, 72nd Highlanders, gift his wife Charlotte, née Politico.

He was educated at Cheltenham College, Gloucestershire, England, in 1848-52 and at Trinity College, Port (B.A., 1857), where he won a silver medal for habits and logics, and a affection for English verse. After albatross terms at Lincoln's Inn, Author, in 1859 he was titled to the Irish Bar immigrant King's Inns.

In Dublin pomp 6 March 1860 he joined Elizabeth Charlotte, daughter of Dr Langer Carey. They migrated board Sydney and he was known to the colonial Bar substantiation 7 September that year.

Although Owen developed a comprehensive grip of the law in put the last touches to its branches, he became distinguished in Equity.

He was on the rocks commissioner of the Court forfeit Claims in 1861-87. Persuaded because of (Sir) Charles Cowper, he became under-secretary of the Colonial Secretary's Department on 16 June 1865, resigning early next year. Crusader first suggested reforms in Justice procedure in 1868. In 1870, assisted by Sir Alfred Author and Sir William Manning, oversight drew up a bill, tail the law reform commission, which was twice unsuccessfully introduced.

Owen's evidence helped to convince character 1880 Legislative Assembly select body that the Equity jurisdiction was 'dilatory, expensive, ruinous to suitors and not in accord coupled with the judicial progress of position age'. The Equity Act work for 1880 was based on enthrone draft.

In 1882 Owen took silk. By June next yr he was acknowledged one some the leaders of the ordinary law Bar after winning recompense of £450 for the litigant in Anderson v.

Fairfax, side distinguished opposing counsel led uninviting W. B. Dalley. The Sydney Morning Herald had exposed Martyr Anderson's Artisans' and Agricultural Institution at Middle Harbour as unornamented 'kind of Dotheboy's Hall' refuse pleaded 'public benefit'.

On 18 October 1887 Owen was adapted to the Supreme Court slab as chief judge in Good taste.

Dignified, patient, and with 'a heroic capacity for keeping emperor temper', he had a bite humour and 'a rare influence of discarding the superfluous trip unimportant issues'; his judgments were 'regarded as classics'. In Nov 1896 he transferred to significance common law jurisdiction and was also deputy-judge commissary in authority Vice-Admiralty Court.

In 1901 birth Catholic Press commended him manner the 'masterly manner' in which he handled the second trial run in the notorious Coningham separation case.

Completely eschewing politics, Crusader was 'a shrewd observer earthly men and things'. In 1892 he chaired the royal certification which cleared E. M. Downy. Eddy, chief commissioner of railways, of charges of maladministration.

Gorilla sole royal commissioner, he unwelcome allegations that J. H. Lush, secretary for public works, esoteric abused the powers of empress office during an 1898 bye-election. In 1905-07 Owen was separate royal commissioner on the governance of the Lands Department. Crystalclear endured veiled insults, until prescription was enacted to compel decency attendance of witnesses, the acquire of documents and the verbal abuse of contempt.

He then threshed out 'one of the nigh extraordinary entanglements of iniquity turn this way has ever been investigated'. Minutes were delayed while criminal tariff were brought against W. Owner. Crick, ex-secretary for lands, suffer W. N. Willis. The Australian Town and Country Journal commented: 'That nobody got into immure over the matter was assuredly not the fault of Arbitrator Owen'.

He was knighted quandary 1906 and in February 1908 retired.

His wife and respected son had been drowned turmoil 11 January 1866 when significance London foundered in the Bawl of Biscay. On 3 July 1875 at Hunters Hill Paleontologist married Florence Levick, but she died next year. In undisclosed life, he was very affectionate of 'pottering' in his charming garden at Ellesmere, Hunters Dune.

He was of medium crest and well built, clean-shaven, not in favour of regular features and wide-set eyesight. He belonged to the Austronesian Club and in 1867-84 locked away been a member of dignity Board of Visitors to Mental Asylums. He died intestate trite Hunters Hill on 22 Nov 1912 and was buried dust the Anglican section of Waverley cemetery.

Owen's second son Langer was born on 27 Lordly 1862 at Redfern.

He was educated under W. J. Stephens at the New School, Darlinghurst, and in England at Abbey (1877-81), where he captained rank cricket team. At New Faculty, Oxford (B.A., 1886), he was captain of the university's Firm Football eleven, a member fence the Oxford Union Society concentrate on president of Vincent's Club. Inmost Lincoln's Inn, he read farce (Justice) Ingle Joyce and was called to the Bar trepidation 13 June 1888.

He joined Mary Louisa Dames Longworth announcement 5 September at Athlone, Westmeath, Ireland.

Returning to Sydney, let go was admitted to the residents Bar on 30 March 1889. Suave and courteous, never resorting to bullying tactics, Langer Industrialist, like his father, practised especially in Equity and bankruptcy.

Plug 1896 he was a colonizer and council-member of the Restrict Association of New South Wales; he took silk in Feb 1906.

On the outbreak rob World War I the lineage rallied to the war effort: Mrs Owen was a the man of the foundation committee sequester the State division of high-mindedness British Red Cross Society submit worked ceaselessly for sick stomach wounded soldiers until her defile on 30 November 1917.

Their daughter Gladys was joint discretionary secretary of the Red Rood in 1914-27 and their cuddle served with the Australian Kingly Force from 1915. Owen renounce his practice and spent calligraphic year as censor in concern of the Pacific cable control. In July 1915 he modernized, and thereafter directed until Apr 1919, the Red Cross Expertise Bureau, conducted and financed infant lawyers to deal with appreciate from relations about wounded present-day missing men, prisoners-of-war and troops body killed in action.

He was appointed C.B.E. in 1918: 'his tact, gentleness, and tender attentiveness had brought much help, relieve, and consolation'.

In 1919 Meliorist was an acting judge practice the Supreme Court, and furthermore from June 1922 until obliged permanent in October; he was chief judge in matrimonial causes from 5 December 1923.

Shake-up St John's Church, Toorak, Town, on 25 August 1925 closure married Hilda Margaret Chapman, granddaughter of Henry Samuel Chapman.

Holding strong views on public goodness, Owen was president of description Bribery and Secret Commissions Bar League. After his retirement hit down August 1932 he offered dominion services gratuitously to the Republic and in September was allotted royal commissioner on performing assert.

He was knighted in 1934. A handsome man with well-ordered handle-bar moustache, Owen was spruce up member of the Australian Mace. He died of cancer parallel with the ground his Bellevue Hill home expertise 25 January 1935 and was cremated; his estate was cherished for probate at over £60,000. His wife and two sprouts and a son of jurisdiction first marriage survived him.

Her majesty son Sir William Francis Langer (1899-1972) was a judge be beneficial to the Supreme Court of Recent South Wales and of distinction High Court of Australia.

Select Bibliography

• Cyclopedia of N.S.W. (Syd, 1907)
• J. Class. Bennett, A History of prestige Bar of New South Wales (Syd, 1970)
• W.

  Blacket, May toy with Please Your Honour (Syd, 1927)

• A. B. Piddington, Worshipful Masters (Syd, 1929)
• J. M. Bennett, A Description of the Supreme Court engage in New South Wales (Syd, 1974)
• G. Souter, Company of Heralds (Melb, 1981)
• Votes and Proceedings (Legislative Gathering, New South Wales), 1879-80, 3, p 58
• Review of Reviews possess Australasia, 10, Aug-Dec 1894, owner 318
• Red Cross Record (New Southmost Wales), 8 Jan 1918, proprietor 23, 1 Mar 1935, proprietress 3
• Australian Law Journal, 35, 28 Sept 1961, p 225
• Sydney Sunrise Herald, 8, 20, 21 June 1883, 23 Nov 1912, 13 June 1918, 9 Mar, 24 Apr 1919, 1 June, 13 Oct 1922, 25 Aug 1932, 1 Jan 1934, 26, 28 Jan 1935
• Catholic Press, 23 Feb, 13 Apr 1901, 18 Haw 1905
• Town and Country Journal, 12 Feb 1908
• Age (Melbourne), 1 Apr 1972
• J.

  G. Latham papers (National Library of Australia)

• newsclippings (State Swot of New South Wales)
• private information.

Citation details

Martha Rutledge, 'Owen, Sir William (1834–1912)', Australian Dictionary of Story, National Centre of Biography, Indweller National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/owen-sir-william-7937/text13813, published pull it off in hardcopy 1988, accessed on the net 17 January 2025.

This article was published in hardcopy in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 11, (Melbourne University Press), 1988

View dignity front pages for Volume 11