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Member Details

Sir William Montagu MANNING, K.C.M.G.,Q.C.,LL.D (1811 - 1895)

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Date of Birth: 20/06/1811
Place of Birth: Alphington, Devon, England
Date of Death: 27/03/1895
Place of Death: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Parliamentary Service
Position Start End Period Notes
Member of the NSW Legislative Council 08 Feb 1888 27 Feb 1895 7 years 20 days Life Appointment under the Constitution Act. Date of Writ of Summons 30 December 1887
Attorney General 31 Oct 1868 15 Dec 1870 2 years 1 month 15 days
Member of the NSW Legislative Council 03 Sep 1861 08 May 1876 14 years 8 months 6 days Life Appointment under the Constitution Act. Date of Writ of Summons 24 June 1861
Attorney General 21 Feb 1860 08 Mar 1860 17 days
Australian General Assurance Company’s Bill Committee No.23 19 Nov 1856 18 Mar 1857 4 months
Administration of Justice and Conduct of Official Business in Country Districts Committee No.20 11 Nov 1856 18 Mar 1857 4 months 8 days
Member for Cumberland (South Riding) 14 Oct 1856 18 May 1857 7 months 5 days
Attorney General 03 Oct 1856 25 May 1857 7 months 23 days
Additional Ministerial Department Committee No.12 20 Aug 1856 18 Mar 1857 6 months 27 days
Sydney Bethel Union Bill Committee No.9 13 Aug 1856 18 Mar 1857 7 months 6 days
Attorney General 06 Jun 1856 25 Aug 1856 2 months 20 days
Member for Cumberland (South Riding) 09 Apr 1856 06 Jun 1856 1 month 29 days
Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly 09 Apr 1856 18 May 1857 1 year 1 month 10 days
Member of the NSW Legislative Council 27 Feb 1851 29 Feb 1856 5 years 3 days A Non-Elective Member of the first Legislative Council 1843 – 1856
Solicitor-General 19 Nov 1849 05 Jun 1856 6 years 6 months 18 days
Political Party Activity
Community Activity
Qualifications, occupations and interests
Lawyer (Barrister) and pastoralist. Educated at Tavistock, Southampton and University College in London. Worked for his uncle, Sergeant Manning and entered Lincolns Inn in 1827. Called to the Bar in 1832. Practised on Western Circuit. Arrived in Sydney on 31 August 1837 and was appointed as a magistrate and Chairman of Quarter Sessions. Solicitor General from 1844 until 1856. Acting Supreme Court Judge from 1848 until until 1849. Acquired real estate from 1837. Became a squatter in Lachlan district. Joined shipping ventures and and had interests in mineral lands. Fellow of Senate of University of Sydney from 1861 until 1895. Chancellor from 1878 until 1895. Founding President of New South Wales Rifle Association from 1860 until 1895. Vice President of Horticultural Society of New South Wales in 1870s. Lover of literature and music. Early member, trustee and later Vice President of Australia Club. Civil Service Club. Steward of Australian Jockey Club. Member of Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron. Active in charitable institutions.
Military Service
Honours Received
Appointed as a Queens Counsel in 1857. Knighted in 1858. Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in 1892.
Membership of other Parliaments & Offices Held
Local Government Activity
Personal
Son of John Edye Manning, Supreme Court Registrar, and Matilda Cooke. Married (1) Emily Anne Wise on 16 August 1832 in Paris and had issue, 2 daughters and 1 son. Married (2) Eliza Anne Sowerby on 7 June 1849 and had issue, 3 daughters and 1 son. Church of England.
Additional Information
Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 5 NOTE: As at August 1998, the silver epergne given to W. M. Manning on his retirement on 23 May 1857 is on display in the Centenary Galleries of the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia (No. 992 / L334). Lent by Mrs Philippa Pearson, Ohio USA, in 1997. Personal papers in the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales: 1. Sir William Montagu Manning - papers, 1855 - 1894 (MLMSS 1107); photographs in the PICMAN Database. 2. William Montagu Manning - papers, 1791 - 1892, with papers of his family, 1791 - 1832 (MLMSS 246); photographs in the PICMAN Database. 3. Sir William Montagu Manning - correspondence, 1833 - ca. 1916, and associated material, 1872 - 1873. 4. Sir William Montagu - commission of appointment as judge of the Supreme Court, 1881 (MLDOC 1086).

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