History of Office of Sheriff NSW
History of the Office of Sheriff
The Office of the Sheriff was established in Australia by the Third Charter of Justice (New South Wales Act), which was passed in 1823 and came into effect the following year.
|
| Cecil Maybury, Sheriff NSW 1896–1917 |
Prior to this, the duties of the sheriff were performed by the provost marshal of the Colony of New South Wales.
In 1824, the colony of NSW included the whole of eastern Australia, as well as Van Dieman’s Land (now Tasmania).
Sheriffs were appointed in the colonies of Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania after their separation from NSW, and also in the colonies of South Australia and Western Australia. These colonies later became states, each of which still has a sheriff.
Former role of the NSW sheriff
The colonial records of NSW state that in 1824 the duties of the sheriff were to:
- execute all the judgments, decrees and orders of the Supreme Court
- carry out the death sentence in criminal cases
- carry out minor sentences passed by the court in criminal cases
- discharge the duties of the Coroner
- act as the Marshal of the Admiralty
- arrange for the transmission of prisoners under sentence to 'iron’d gangs' in the interior, Goat Island and the streets of Sydney
- run the gaols
- arrange the reception and disposal of prisoners returned from penal settlements.
Many of these duties have disappeared over the years, in particular responsibility for carrying out death sentences as the death penalty was abolished in across Australia.
The Office of the Sheriff no longer runs gaols, which are now controlled by the Department of Corrective Services, not do they act as coroners, as this is the special responsibility of the Coroner’s Court.
Today, the Office of the Sheriff has broad responsibility for enforcing the civil law of New South Wales, as well as providing court security and running the jury system.
Sheriffs of NSW: colonial to current day
There have been 23 sheriffs, including the current sheriff and three acting sheriffs in New South Wales since 1824.
|
DATE |
SHERIFF |
| 1824-1827 | John Mackanass |
| 1828 | Willian Carter |
| 1829-1841 | Thomas Macquoid |
| 1824 | William Hustler |
| 1843-1849 | Adolphus William Young |
| 1849-1854 | Gilbert Eliot |
| 1855-1860 | John O’Neill Brenan |
| 1861-1864 | George Richard Uhr |
| 1864-1874 | Harold Maclean |
| 1874-1896 | Charles Cowper |
| 1896-1917 | Cecil Edmunds Bridgewater Maybury |
| 1917-1920 | Charles Richard Walsh |
| 1920-1925 | Walter William Crockford |
| 1925-1939 | George Francis Murphy |
| 1939-1945 | Harry Charles Lester |
| 1945-1960 | Roland Oliver Elliot |
| 1960-1968 | Donald Mercer Richardson |
| 1968-1974 | Thomas Alexander Woodward |
| 1974-1985 | George Francis Hanson |
| 1985-1997 | David Michael Lennon |
| 1997-1998 | Nerida Johnston (Acting) |
| 1998-2002 | Bruce Kelly |
| 2002-2003 | Kenneth Holdgate (Acting) |
| 2003-2007 | Gary Byles |
| 2007-2008 | Reg Kruit (Acting) |
| 2008-2011 | Christopher Benjamin Allen |
|
|
Detail from the Third Charter of Justice 1823 (UK), which led to the establishment of the Supreme Court and Office of the Sheriff of NSW. |