THE CHRONLCLES OF EARL Y
MELBOURNE.
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sort of nominee cypher on the Benches of thefirstLegislative Council, hefinallyretired on a pension, left the colony, and died in Ireland some years after. whose name was destined to be written on one of the brightest pages of Victorian history, inherited N o r m a n and Cymbrian bloodfilteredthrough an Hibernian pedigree, for he was descended from William D e Barry, w h o married Angharad, grand-daughter of Rhys Ap-Griffiths, Prince of Wales. His father was a Major-General Barry, w h o resided near Glanworth, in the County Cork, and here the baby Corkonian m a d e hisfirstacquaintance with the Emerald Isle, in 1818, the year of his birth. Young Barry was intended for his father's profession, and to qualify him for such, was despatched at an early age to a military school, near Bexley, in Kent. S o m e delay occurred in obtaining his commission, and such proved the turning-point of his life, for it shunted him on to a different line, and arma cedant toga- was his future watch-word. Returning to Ireland and entering Trinity College he obtained an A.B. degree in 1833, was called to the Irish Bar in 1838, and arrived in Sydney the following year. Coming to Melbourne towards the end of 1839, he determined upon remaining there. In 1840 there was little legal business to be done in Port Phillip beyond advising upon titles, and, the young Barrister had only the Quarter Sessions and Police Courts in which to air his eloquence. At the former place his appearance was rare, but his n a m e is reported in connection with several important cases at the Police Office during 1840 and '41. O n Brewster's resignation of the Commissionership of the Court of Requests in 1841, Barry was appointed to the post at an annual salary of £ 1 0 0 , and was soon after nominated Standing Counsel for the Aborigines. O n the opening of the Supreme Court, he was necessarily engaged in almost every case, and for a time got on so well with the judicial oddity (Willis) that on one occasion his Honor condescended to compliment him as "an eloquent young Advocate." But they soon s w a m out of the smooth water, and no Barrister of the period had so m a n y nasty tiffs with the irascible Judge, w h o was however, invariably " bested " by Barry's dignified deportment and invincible politeness. A s the Bar enlarged and business increased, Barry's practice did not do so in proportion, for he was never a favourite with the Attornies, and his solemn starchness and profuse punctiliousness overpowered them. Whilst Murray, Raymond, Williams, and Stawell could be got, Barry would hardly be thought of, and when he was under such circumstances retained, it was either at the special request of a client, or because of the valuable forensic services expected from him. A profound lawyer he was not; but in addressing a jury he was unexcelled by any of his contemporaries, and some of his Court speeches in the early libel cases are rare specimens of ornate and impassioned oratory. T o the promotion of every early literary, social, or charitable movement, he contributed no ordinary assistance, and though he was too grandiose and stand-offish for the multitude, w h o half admired and half feared the primishness of his "get up, and the mannerism of his movements, he was, nevertheless, always held in high respect. O n the inauguration of Victoria as a colony in 1851, Mr. Barry was appointed its first Solicitor-General; and in 1853 when the Justiciary was enlarged, he was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court, where he officiated more than once as Acting Chief Justice. In the founding of the Melbourne University he took so prominent a part that at its birth in 1855 the Chancellorship was conferred on him, and he retained it until his death, a quarter of a century after. O f the Public Library he might be designated one of its chief projectors. In 1875, during the simultaneous absence from the colony of the Governor and Chief Justice, he performed the duties of Administrator of the Government for a short time. A Knighthood of the Order of St. Michael and St. George was, in 1876, bestowed as a royal recognition of his distinguished public services. O n the 23rd November, 1880, Sir R e d m o n d Barry died somewhat unexpectedly, and his remains were consigned to their last earthly resting-place amidst a regret as genuine as it was universal.
REDMOND BARRY,
a Londoner, born in 1811, and in 1839 called to the English Bar, arrived in Melbourne anno 1840, and thenceforth cast in his lot with the fortunes of the infant settlement. H e never made much, or indeed any noise, professionally or personally, for he floated along the current of life a respectable nonentity, esteemed by many and disliked by none. His legal practice was never of m u c h account, and mostly confined to the Equity branch. H e was too undemonstrative for the wordy turmoil of ROBERT WILLIAMS POHLMAN,
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