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Sir John Bayley DARVALL, M.A.,Q.C (1809 - 1883)

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Date of Birth: 19/11/1809
Place of Birth: Felixkirk, Yorkshire, England
Date of Death: 28/12/1883
Place of Death: London, England
Parliamentary Service
Position Start End Period Notes
Fisheries Bill Committee No.9 24 Mar 1865 03 May 1865 1 month 10 days
Member for West Sydney 18 Feb 1865 22 Jun 1865 4 months 5 days
Attorney General 03 Feb 1865 20 Jun 1865 4 months 18 days
Member for West Sydney 24 Nov 1864 03 Feb 1865 2 months 11 days
Member for East Maitland 11 Aug 1863 10 Nov 1864 1 year 3 months
Attorney General 01 Aug 1863 15 Oct 1863 2 months 15 days
Payments made out of Public Funds without Authority of Parliament Committee No.4 26 Jun 1863 18 Aug 1863 1 month 24 days
The Governor’s Opening Speech Committee No.1 23 Jun 1863 23 Jun 1863 1 day
Member for East Maitland 18 Jun 1863 31 Jul 1863 1 month 14 days
Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly 18 Jun 1863 22 Jun 1865 2 years 5 days
Member of the NSW Legislative Council 03 Sep 1861 17 Jun 1863 1 year 9 months 15 days Life Appointment under the Constitution Act. Date of Writ of Summons 24 June 1861.
Petition of Mr Alexander Berry Committee No.9 12 Oct 1860 09 Nov 1860 29 days
Federation of the Australian Colonies Committee No.5 28 Sep 1860 09 Nov 1860 1 month 13 days
Standing Orders Committee No.2 27 Sep 1860 09 Nov 1860 1 month 14 days
Federation of the Australian Colonies Committee No.38 03 Apr 1860 04 Jul 1860 3 months 2 days
Dean of St Andrew’s Sydney Committee No.36 17 Feb 1860 04 Jul 1860 4 months 18 days
Hawkesbury Benevolent Society’s Act Amendment Bill Committee No.35 16 Feb 1860 04 Jul 1860 4 months 19 days
Petition of Alexander Berry, Esquire, Committee No.30 03 Feb 1860 04 Jul 1860 5 months 2 days
Standing Orders Committee No.2 01 Sep 1859 04 Jul 1860 10 months 4 days
Member for Hawkesbury 25 Jun 1859 10 Nov 1860 1 year 4 months 17 days
Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly 25 Jun 1859 10 Nov 1860 1 year 4 months 17 days
Standing Order Committee 12 Aug 1857 18 Dec 1857 4 months 7 days
Governor General’s Opening Speech 11 Aug 1857 11 Aug 1857 1 day
Attorney General 26 May 1857 07 Sep 1857 3 months 13 days
Member for Cumberland (North Riding) 16 Oct 1856 26 Nov 1857 1 year 1 month 11 days
Solicitor General 03 Oct 1856 23 May 1857 7 months 21 days
Masters’ and Servants’ Acts Continuation Bill Committee No.8 13 Aug 1856 18 Mar 1857 7 months 6 days
Member for Cumberland (North Riding) 16 Jun 1856 03 Oct 1856 3 months 18 days
Solicitor General 06 Jun 1856 25 Aug 1856 2 months 20 days
Member for Cumberland (North Riding) 04 Apr 1856 06 Jun 1856 2 months 3 days
Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly 04 Apr 1856 26 Nov 1857 1 year 7 months 23 days
Member of the NSW Legislative Council 01 Sep 1851 29 Feb 1856 4 years 6 months An Elective Member of the first Legislative Council 1843 - 1856 for County of Cumberland
Member of the NSW Legislative Council 01 Jul 1848 30 Jun 1851 3 years An Elective Member of the first Legislative Council 1843 - 1856 for the County of Bathurst
Member of the NSW Legislative Council 24 Jul 1844 20 Jun 1848 3 years 10 months 28 days A Non-Elective Member of the first Legislative Council 1843 – 1856
Political Party Activity
Community Activity
Qualifications, occupations and interests
Lawyer (barrister). Educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge (Bachelor of Arts 1833 and Master of Arts 1837). Admitted to Middle Temple 1833. Articled to uncle Sir John Bayley and later marshall to Lord Bayley. Called to the Bar in 1838. Arrived in Sydney in August 1839. Admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1839 and established a practice. Declined judgeship in Victoria in 1851 and became a Queens Counsel in 1853. Associated with pastoral and commercial interests soon after arrival. Director of Sydney Banking Company, Australian Banking Company. Was involved with other companies which collapsed in early 1840's depression. Founding Director of Australian Joint Stock Bank. Member of Sydney Chamber of Commerce. Member of the first Senate of Sydney University 1850 - 1868. Trustee Australian Club. A 'patrician' liberal in the early 1850's. Opposed Constitution Bill in 1853. Joined conservative Constitutional Association in 1860. Returned to Britain in 1865. Left an estate of £60,000 in England and £20,000 in New South Wales.
Military Service
Honours Received
Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1869, Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in 1877.
Membership of other Parliaments & Offices Held
Local Government Activity
Personal
Son of Major Edward and his wife Emily Johnson. Married Elizabeth Flora Shapland on on 27 September 1837 and they had 4 sons and 3 daughters. Church of England. Andrew Barton ('Banjo') Paterson, the poet and journalist, was the grandson of his sister, Emily May Darvall Barton.
Additional Information
Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 4 Personal papers in the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales: Sir John Bayley Darvall - papers, 1823 - 1869 (MLMSS A5436

The Parliament of New South Wales acknowledges and respects the traditional lands of all Aboriginal people, and pays respects to all Elders past and present. We acknowledge the Gadigal people as the traditional custodians of the land on which the Parliament of New South Wales stands.