John Bigge

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Thomas Bigge (8 March 1780 – 22 December 1843) was an English judge.

He was the second son of Thomas Charles Bigge, High Sheriff of Northumberland in 1771. He was educated at Newcastle, Westminster School and Christ Church College, Oxford

He was called to the Bar in 1806 and from 1814–1818 he was chief justice of the former Spanish colony of Trinidad.

In 1819, Bigge was appointed a special commissioner to examine the government of the Colony of New South Wales by Lord Bathurst, the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. His brief was to determine how far the expanding colony of New South Wales could be “made adequate to the Objects of its original Institution”, which were understood to be purely to be a penal colony. He was to come to Australia to investigate all aspects of the colonial government, then under the governorship of Lachlan Macquarie, including finances, the church and the judiciary, and the convict system.

Since 1817, Bathurst had wanted to examine whether transportation was an effective deterrent to crime. The commissioner may also have been appointed in response to complaints to London from leaders of the community of free settlers including John Macarthur.

Bigge arrived in Sydney in September 1819 together with his secretary Thomas Hobbes Scott. Bigge finished gathering evidence in February 1821 and sailed back to England.

While Bigge was in Australia, there was noticeable friction between himself and Governor Macquarie and he spent much time in the company of the Macarthurs.

Bigge’s first report was published in June 1822 and his second and third reports in 1823. Elements of Bigge’s reports criticised Governor Macquarie’s administration including his emancipist policy, expenditure on public works and management of convicts. Macquarie answered criticisms to the secretary of state, Lord Bathurst in 1822. Bigge's reports are now viewed as not showing sufficient detachment and although there were many excellent recommendations, there were also trifling recommendations and hyper-critical detail.

In 1823, many of Bigge’s recommendations from his second report were incorporated into the NSW Judicature Act which legislated to provide for the colony’s government and judicial system. It also provided for a separate administration for Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania).

In 1824, Governor Brisbane approved the sale of crown land in accordance with one of Bigge’s recommendations. Previously only a nominal ‘quit’ rent was required for grants by the crown.

The establishment of the limits of location resulted from Bigge's recommendations.

From 1823, Bigge was given a similar appointment to examine the government of the Cape Colony, Mauritius and Ceylon.