Peter Faucett

Peter Faucett (1813 – 22 May 1894) was an Australian barrister, judge and politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly between 1856 and 1865. He held the position of Solicitor General in the first government of James Martin. He was a judge of the Supreme Court between 1865 and 1888 and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council between 1888 and 1894 and

Peter Faucett
Solicitor General
In office 16 October 1863 – 2 February 1865
Preceded by	John Hargrave
Succeeded by	John Hargrave
Judge of the Supreme Court (NSW)
In office 4 October 1865 – 8 February 1888
Personal details
Born	(1813-01-01)1 January 1813 Dublin
Died	22 May 1894(1894-05-22) (aged 81) Five Dock, New South Wales

Early life

Faucett was the son of a Dublin blacksmith. He was educated at Trinity College and subsequently studied law. He was called to the Irish Bar in 1845 and emigrated to Sydney in 1852 where he established a large, private legal practice.

Colonial Parliament

Faucett was as a member of the first New South Wales Legislative Assembly which was elected after the establishment of responsible self-government in 1856. He was elected as the member for King and Georgiana and retained the seat, unopposed, at the 1858 colonial election. Faucett was not a candidate at the 1859 election and was an unsuccessful candidate at the 1859 East Maitland by-election caused by the resignation of Joseph Chambers who had accepted a position as Crown Prosecutor in the Western Districts of New South Wales. Faucett was also unsuccessful at a ministerial by-election for the four member seat of East Sydney in November 1859 but eventually re-entered parliament as the member for that seat after winning a 1860 by-election caused by the resignation of Charles Cowper. However he was subsequently defeated at the general election held later that year. Faucett again entered parliament as the member for Yass Plains at a 1861 by-election caused by the resignation, due to ill-health of the incumbent Henry O'Brien. He retained the seat until his resignation from the Assembly in 1865 to accept an appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court. After retiring from the bench in 1888 he accepted a life appointment to the Legislative Council, which he retained until his death. Faucett was a founder of St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney and St John's College, University of Sydney.[1]

Government

Faucett's only ministerial appointment was as Solicitor General in the first government of James Martin. It has been said that his career in public office was unspectacular but he had an earnest desire to see justice done and was a "plain-spoken, sober-sided, solid man".[2]

References

1. "Mr Peter Faucett (1813–1894)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
2. W B Perringnon. "Faucett, Peter (1813 - 1894)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved 11 January 2010.

 

New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Preceded by First Election	Member for King and Georgiana 1856 – 1859	Succeeded by Seat abolished
Preceded by Charles Cowper	Member for East Sydney 1860 Served alongside: Black, Parkes, Martin	Succeeded by Charles Cowper
Preceded by Henry O'Brien	Member for Yass Plains 1861 – 1865	Succeeded by Robert Isaacs
Political offices
Preceded by John Hargrave	Solicitor General 1863 – 1865	Succeeded by John Hargrave