Herbert Nicholls

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Sir Herbert Nicholls
KCMG
6th Chief Justice of Tasmania
In office
1 July 1914 – 31 October 1937
Preceded bySir John Dodds
Succeeded byHarold Crisp
Leader of the Opposition (Tasmania)
In office
29 May 1906 – 1 January 1909
Preceded byWilliam Propsting
Succeeded byJohn Earle
Attorney-General of Tasmania
In office
9 April 1903 – 11 July 1904
PremierWilliam Propsting
Preceded byElliott Lewis
Succeeded byGeorge Gilmore
ConstituencyCentral Hobart
Personal details
Born(1868-08-11)11 August 1868
Ballarat, Victoria
Died11 November 1940(1940-11-11) (aged 72)
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Spouse
Helen Sprent
​
(m. 1905)​
Alma materUniversity of Tasmania
ProfessionBarrister

Sir Herbert Nicholls KCMG (11 August 1868 – 11 November 1940) was an Australian judge and politician, who was Chief Justice of Tasmania from 1914 to 1937, and as an independent member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly from 1900 to 1909. In parliament, he served as Attorney-General (1903 to 1904) and Leader of the Opposition (1906 to 1909).

Early life[edit]

Nicholls was born in Ballarat, Victoria in 1868, to the English journalist Henry Richard Nicholls and his Irish-born wife Ellen Minchin. He was educated in Ballarat, until his family moved to Hobart, Tasmania in 1883 so his father could take up the editorship of The Mercury newspaper.[1] (His father is the namesake of the H. R. Nicholls Society, formed in 1986.)

Legal career[edit]

After working as a mail clerk, Nicholls was articled to Andrew Inglis Clark and Matthew Wilkes Simmons, and was admitted to the Bar in 1892. He graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Tasmania in 1896, and became a barrister.[1]

Political career[edit]

At a 1900 by-election, Nicholls was elected as an independent member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly, as one of the members representing the multi-member electoral district of Hobart. He was the first graduate of the University of Tasmania to be elected to parliament.[2]

In 1903 after re-districting on the occasion of the cancellation of the use of STV, he was re-elected, this time as the sole member for Central Hobart.[1][3]

From 1903 to 1904, Nicholls held two ministries in the cabinet of William Propsting: Attorney-General and Minister administering the Education Act. As Attorney-General, Nicholls represented police superintendent Frederick Pedder, the respondent in the landmark High Court case D'Emden v Pedder.[4]

On 29 May 1906, following the state election the eight opposition members of the House of Assembly voted for Nicholls as their leader.[5]

In December 1908, the cabinet of John Evans unanimously decided to appoint Alfred Dobson, Tasmania's Agent-General in London, as third judge of the Supreme Court of Tasmania. Dobson declined the appointment for personal reasons, and Nicholls was offered the role and accepted.[6] He resigned from the Tasmanian Parliament on 1 January 1909.[7]

Judicial career[edit]

When the Chief Justice of Tasmania, Sir John Dodds, died in office in June 1914, Nicholls was appointed as his replacement.[8]

As chief justice, Nicholls served as Administrator of Tasmania on occasions when the Governor of Tasmania was absent from the state, or in between the appointment of governors to the role. Nicholls was serving as administrator in October 1923, when the Nationalist government of Sir Walter Lee lost a confidence motion on the floor of the house. Nicholls refused to dissolve the parliament and call an election, and appointed Joseph Lyons as Premier of a minority Labor government when Lee resigned.[9] Nicholls was lieutenant-governor and administrator of the state for nearly three years from December 1930 to August 1933 between the end of Sir James O'Grady's term and the appointment of Sir Ernest Clark.[8]

Honours[edit]

Nicholls was made Knight Bachelor in 1916 for his work as chief justice.[10] In 1927, he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG).[11]

Lake Nicholls in Mount Field National Park is named after him. Nicholls was a frequent visitor to the western highlands region where the lake is located, which was a practically unexplored area at the time.[8]

Legacy[edit]

Nicholls authored books:

- Reports of cases determined in the Supreme Court of Tasmania, 2 vols. (1907)

- An Election under the Clark-Hare System. ("Mercury" Office, Hobart, 1899, 12 pp., 8vo.) The various stages of the counting explained; the rules used for transferring surpluses are those proposed in the Electoral Bill, 1899[12]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Mulcahy, David L. (1988). "Nicholls, Sir Herbert (1868–1940)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  2. ^ Wing, Don. "University of Tasmania Graduates and State Parliament". Retrieved 1 May 2024. {{cite news}}: Text "2010" ignored (help); Text "year" ignored (help)
  3. ^ "Herbert Nicholls". Members of the Parliament of Tasmania. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  4. ^ "High Court of Appeal". Tasmanian News. 24 February 1904. p. 4. Retrieved 9 September 2015 – via Trove.
  5. ^ "Tasmanian Parliament". The Register. 30 May 1906. p. 7. Retrieved 9 September 2015 – via Trove.
  6. ^ "Notes and news". The Daily Telegraph. 1 December 1908. p. 4. Retrieved 9 September 2015 – via Trove.
  7. ^ "Sir Herbert Nicholls, KCMG (1914-1937)". Supreme Court of Tasmania. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  8. ^ a b c "Obituary Sir Herbert Nicholls Chief Justice Of Tasmania For 23 Years; Noted Athlete". The Mercury. 12 November 1940. p. 2. Retrieved 9 September 2015 – via Trove.
  9. ^ Henderson, Anne (2011). Joseph Lyons: The People's Prime Minister. Sydney: UNSW Press. ISBN 978-1742240992.
  10. ^ "Knight Bachelor (Imperial) entry for Herbert Nicholls". Australian Honours Database. Canberra, Australia: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 18 July 1916. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  11. ^ "Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (Imperial) (KCMG) entry for Judge Herbert Nicholls". Australian Honours Database. Canberra, Australia: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 3 June 1927. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  12. ^ Piesse. Bibliography of PR in Tasmania (1913) (PDF).

 

Political offices
Preceded by Attorney-General of Tasmania
1903–1904 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Leader of the Opposition (Tasmania)
1906–1909 		Succeeded by
Legal offices
Preceded by Chief Justice of Tasmania
1914–1937 		Succeeded by
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