John Stephen (New South Wales judge)

John Stephen (1771–1833) was appointed solicitor-general and judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales in the Colony of New South Wales.^[1]

John Stephen
Born	4 July 1771 Poole, Dorset, England
Died	21 December 1833(1833-12-21) (aged 62) Belfield, New South Wales
Occupation	Supreme court judge
Years active	1826–1832

Career

Stephen built up a legal practice as an attorney and barrister in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis.^[1] Stephen returned to England, where he lost on some bad investments, so then returned to Basseterre, but was unable to re-establish his previously profitable practice.^[1] His nephew James Stephen, who was permanent under-secretary of state for the colonies, recommended Stephen for appointment in the Colony of New South Wales.^[1] He was appointed the first Solicitor General for New South Wales in 1824,^[2] serving until August 1825 when he was appointed an additional judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales.^[3] Stephen resigned from the Supreme Court in December 1932 due to ill health and died on 21 December 1833,^[1] at Clareville, described as his country house, in what is now Belfield.^[4][5]

Family

Stephen was the son of James Stephen, from Aberdeen, Scotland, and Sibella Milner, of Poole, Dorsetshire.^[1] Stephen and his wife Mary Anne, née Pasmore, had six boys, and three girls.^[1] The Stephen family became a prominent legal dynasty in Australia. Of his sons, Sir Alfred served as Chief Justice of New South Wales, while Sidney served on the Supreme Court of New Zealand. His nephew James served on the Supreme Court of Victoria, while his grandson, Sir Henry and great-grandson Edward served on the Supreme Court of New South Wales.^[6]

See also

• List of judges of the Supreme Court of New South Wales

References

1. Currey, C.H. "Stephen, John (1771–1833)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943.
2. "John Stephen Esq appointed Solicitor-General". The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser. 12 August 1824. p. 1. Retrieved 19 January 2019 – via Trove.
3. "John Stephen Esq appointed additional judge of the Supreme Court". The Australian. 18 August 1825. p. 1. Retrieved 19 January 2019 – via Trove.
4. "Funeral of John Stephen, Esq". The Australian. 27 December 1833. p. 2. Retrieved 20 December 2021 – via Trove.
5. "Clareville estate". Dictionary of Sydney. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
6. Fox, K (17 February 2015). "Australian Legal Dynasties: The Stephens and the Streets". Australian Dictionary of Biography.

External links

• John Stephen at Find a Grave
• John Stephen at FamilySearch
• Colonial Secretary's papers 1822-1877, State Library of Queensland- includes digitised correspondence, petitions and letters written by Stephen to the Colonial Secretary of New South Wales