Francis Forbes

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Francis Forbes

Sir Francis Forbes (1784 - 8 November 1841) was a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland, and the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

He was born in 1784, and educated in Bermuda. At the age of 19 he traveled to London, England to enter Lincoln's Inn. He was called to the Bar in 1812 and became a Crown Law Officer in Bermuda.

He married Amelia Sophia Grant in 1813.

In 1816 he was invited to be Chief Justice of Newfoundland, and was sworn in at St. John's in July, 1816. While in Newfoundland, he severely curtailed the powers of the Fishing Admirals. In 1820, he wrote the lyrics of the song "The Banks of Newfoundland".

In 1822, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, to oversee the reform of the administration of the legal system in the colony, following the inquiry into the colony's affairs by commissioner John Bigge. Before departing for Australia, he helped draft the "New South Wales Act" of 1823 (4 Geo. IV c. 96); this bill, along with the "Charter of Justice" issued under it on 13 October 1823, the old legal tribunals of convict days were superseded by a Supreme Court with comprehensive legal jurisdiction; under the new system, not only was he the sole judge, subject only to the appellate power of the Governor, but was an official member of the Executive and Legislative Councils, and all colonial legislation had to bear his imprimatur.

Forbes arrived in Sydney in March 1824, and Court commenced on 17 May 1824.

Forbes suffered serious bouts of illness from 1826; in May 1836 he returned to England for a year's leave; in 1837, he retired his post, and was honoured with a knighthood that same year. He died at "Leitrim Lodge", his home in Newtown, New South Wales, on 8 November 1841.