Samuel Walker Griffith GCMG KC (1845 - 1920)

Born 21 Jun 1845 in Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan, Wales, United Kingdom

Husband of Julia Janet (Thomson) Griffith — married 1870 in Maitland, Colony of New South Wales

Descendants

Died 9 Aug 1920 at age 75 in New Farm, Queensland, Australia

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Biography

Samuel Griffith GCMG KC is Notable.

Sir Samuel Griffith GCMG KC was an Australian judge and parliamentarian who served in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland for 31 years, including five years as attorney general eight as premier. Retiring from the parliament he headed the Supreme Court of Queensland for ten years and then was the the inaugural chief justice of Australia for sixteen years. A prominent Christian, Griffiths is credited with drafting the Queensland Criminal Code and the federal Judiciary Act, and played a key role in the drafting of the Australian Constitution.

Sir Samuel Walter Griffith GCMG KC

Samuel Walker Griffith was born on 21st June 1845 in Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan, Wales, the second son of the Reverend Edward Griffith, a Congregational minister and his wife, Mary Walker, second daughter of Peter Walker.^[1]

By 1849, the family moved to Somerset, where Samuel's younger sister Mary was born.^[2]

Samuel Griffith GCMG KC migrated from Wales to Queensland.

What an amazing adventure it woud have been for an eight year-old boy when he migrated with his family to the far-away colonies of Queensland and New South Wales in 1853.^[3]

Samuel was educated at schools in Ipswich, Sydney, Maitland and Brisbane (from 1860), towns where his father was a minister, then at the University of Sydney, where he graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1863. Griffith was called to the bar in 1867. In 1870, Griffith returned to Sydney to complete a Master of Arts. Griffith took silk in 1876 as a Queen's Counsel (known from 1901 as King's Counsel).^[3]

In 1870 at Maitland in the Colony of New South Wales, he married Julia Thomson.^[4] They made their home, Merthyr, at New Farm, Brisbane.^[3] They had six children:

• Mary Eveline (1871-1963) married name Brown
• Llewellyn Arthur Peter Griffith (1872-1901) unmarried
• Helen Julia Griffith (1874-1965) unmarried
• Edward Percivale Thomson Griffith (1877-1964)
• Edith Margaret (1879-1966) married name Doyle
• Alice Gwendoline Griffith (1881-1961) unmarried

Both Samuel and Julia, later Sir Samuel and Lady Griffith, were active in the Wharf Street Congregational Church, Brisbane.^[3]

In 1872 Griffith was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, for the electorate of East Moreton. He served as Attorney General from 1874 to 1878, and as Premier of Queensland from 1883 to 1888 and from 1890 to 1893, when he retired from parliament to head the Supreme Court of Queensland, a post he held until 1903. He was knighted during his first term as premier and became the, then, longest-serving premier of Queensland. The Queensland criminal code – the first Colonial or State code in Australia – was mostly his creation, and mostly unchanged to this day. Many of his contributions to the draft Federal Constitution were preserved in the final constitution enacted in 1900.^[3]

In 1891, Griffith's government used the military, to break up the Shearers Strike earning him the nickname Oily Sam.

Griffith was involved in the drafting of the federal Judiciary Act 1903, which established the High Court of Australia, and was subsequently nominated by Prime Minister, Alfred Deakin, to become the inaugural Chief Justice.^[3]

After 1910, Griffith's health declined, and in 1917 he suffered a stroke.^[3] He passed away at home on 9th August 1920 and is buried in the Brisbane General Cemetery, Toowong.^[5] He was survived by his wife and five of his six children.

Recognition and legacy

• created Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in 1886.
• created Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in 1895.
• Griffith University
• the suburb of Griffith in Canberra
• the federal electoral division of Griffith
• Sir Samuel Griffith Drive on Mount Coot-tha in Brisbane
• the Samuel Griffith Society is a conservative organisation dedicated to defending what it sees as the principles of the Constitution
• although now demolished, his home has given its name to the neighbourhood of Merthyr in New Farm. Griffith Street and Merthyr Street in New Farm are also named after the man and his house.

Sources

1. ↑ UK FreeBMD Birth Index Sep qtr 1845, vol 26, page 377
2. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1851," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SGGT-SXR : 11 September 2019), Samuel W Griffith in household of Edward Griffith, Wiveliscombe, Somerset, England; citing Wiveliscombe, Somerset, England, p. 59, from "1851 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO HO 107, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6} Wikipedia Samuel Griffith accessed 12 Nov 2018
4. ↑ New South Wales BMD Marriage Index: Name: Griffith, Samuel Walker & Thomson, Julia Janet; Ref: #2633/1870; Place: Maitland.
5. ↑ Queensland BMD Death Index registration: Name: Samuel Walker Griffith; Death date:09/08/1920; Mother's name:Mary Walker; Father/parent's name:Edward Griffith; Registration details:1920/B/32563.

See Also:

• Wikidata: Item Q56717293, en:Wikipedia
• Find a Grave, database and images  : accessed 04 August 2021), memorial page for Sir Samuel Walker “Oily Sam” Griffith (21 Jun 1845–9 Aug 1920), Find A Grave: Memorial #105338626, citing Toowong Cemetery, Brisbane, Brisbane City, Queensland, Australia ; Maintained by Peterborough K (contributor 46537737) .
• 'Samuel Griffith: Australia’s forgotten founding father?' By Phillip Adams Broadcast on ABC Radio National's Late Night Live : Mon 24 Aug 2020; accessed online on 28 Aug 2020
• Joyce, R B., 'Griffith, Sir Samuel Walker (1845–1920)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1983, accessed online 29 Aug 2020.
• Queensland History Journal, The Royal Historical Society of Queensland. August 2021, Vol 24, No 10. Sir Samuel Griffith: a political life.