| The Honourable Richard O'Connor QC |
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|---|---|
| Official portrait of O'Connor, c. 1910 | |
| Puisne Justice of the High Court of Australia | |
| In office 5 October 1903 – 18 November 1912 |
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| Nominated by | Alfred Deakin |
| Appointed by | Henry Northcote, 1st Baron Northcote |
| Preceded by | none |
| Succeeded by | Sir Frank Gavan Duffy |
| Senator for New South Wales | |
| In office 29 March 1901 – 27 September 1903 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 August 1851 Sydney, New South Wales |
| Died | 18 November 1912 (aged 61) Sydney, New South Wales |
| Political party | Protectionist Party |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Richard Edward O'Connor, QC (4 August 1851 – 18 November 1912), Australian politician and judge, was a member of the first federal ministry.
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O'Connor was born into an Irish family in the Sydney suburb of Glebe and was educated at Lyndhurst College, Sydney Grammar School, and at St John's College, University of Sydney, graduating as a lawyer in 1871. He became a clerk to the legislative council, studied law, and was called to the bar in 1876. Almost from the beginning he was known as a sound lawyer and he subsequently built up a successful practice, he was also a well-known journalist writing for Irish-Australian and Catholic magazines.[1][2]
A Protectionist, O'Connor was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council 1887–98. He was Minister for Justice 1891–93 and Solicitor-General 1893.[3] He was made a Q.C. in 1896, and in the same year was a member of the people's federal convention held at Bathurst. He was an earnest advocate for federation and was elected one of the New South Wales representatives for the convention of 1897–98. At this convention he was a member with Sir Edmund Barton and Sir John Downer of the drafting committee which prepared the federation bill. This, with some amendments, eventually became the federal constitution.[1]
O'Connor was elected to the Australian Senate in 1901 as a Senator for New South Wales. He was Vice-President of the Executive Council 1901-03 in the ministry of Edmund Barton.
In 1903 he was appointed as a foundation Justice of the High Court of Australia, where he served until his death in 1912 of pernicious anaemia in St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney. O'Connor was one of only eight justices of the High Court to have served in the Parliament of Australia prior to his appointment to the Court; the others were Edmund Barton, Isaac Isaacs, H. B. Higgins, Edward McTiernan, John Latham, Garfield Barwick, and Lionel Murphy. O'Connor was also one of six justices to have served in the Parliament of New South Wales, along with Barton, Adrian Knox, Albert Piddington, McTiernan, and H. V. Evatt.
O'Connor was survived by his wife Sarah Hensleigh, who he married in 1879, and four sons and two daughters.[1][2] One daughter married Alexander Maclay, the son of Nicholai Miklukho-Maklai; the other married the composer Roy Agnew.
| Political offices | ||
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| New title | Vice-President of the Executive Council 1901 – 1903 |
Succeeded by Thomas Playford |
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