Frederick Richard Jordan KCMG KC (1881 - 1949)

Born 13 Oct 1881 in Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom

Husband of Bertha Maud (Clay) Jordan — married 9 Jan 1928 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Died 4 Nov 1949 at age 68 in Vaucluse, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Frederick Jordan KCMG KC is Notable.

Sir Frederick Jordan KCMG KC LLB BA was an Australian barrister, Chief Justice of New South Wales and Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales.

Frederick Jordan KCMG KC was born in Middlesex, England.

Frederick Richard Jordan was born on 13th October 1881 in Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom. He was the son of Frederick Jordan, a hay and straw merchant, and Sarah Nobel. ^[1]

Frederick Jordan KCMG KC migrated from England to New South Wales.

The family migrated to New South Wales (Australia) in 1886, settling in Balmain, an inner western suburb of Sydney. Frederick attended Balmain Superior Public School and Sydney Boys High School. Whilst the young man showed intellectual promise, university education was financially out of reach.

Frederick was a Barrister and Judge

Frederick obtained employment as a clerk at the Master in Lunacy's office in 1898-1900, followed by a clerk, shorthand writer and typist in the Public Library of New South Wales. He joined the State's Intelligence Department in January 1906. Frederick was a sub-editor of publications and compiler in the Bureau of Statistics from June 1907. During this time, he began evening studies at the University of Sydney, which eventually led to him obtaining a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 1904, and a Bachelor of Law (LLB) in 1907. He was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in August 1907.

Frederick married Bertha Clay on 9th January 1928 in St Stephen's Presbyterian (now Uniting) Church, Macquarie Street, Sydney. ^[2] Frederick and Bertha did not have children.

He took silk as King's Counsel (KC) in 1928.

Frederick was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales on 1st February 1934. ^[3] He had not been a judge before his appointment and at the time had been a senior equity barrister.

In the New Year Honours 1936 Frederick was created Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) for his 'service as Chief Justice of New South Wales'. ^[4]

Sir Frederick was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales in 1938. ^[5] He was called upon to administer the Government of NSW in 1946 in the period between the resignation of Lord Wakehurst on 8th January and the appointment of Sir John Northcott on 1st August. ^[6]

In August 1949 Frederick underwent surgery from which his recovery was only briefly successful. Aged 68 years, he passed away of hypertensive cardiovascular disease on 4th November 1949 at home in Vaucluse. ^[7] He was accorded a State Funeral in the Cathedral Church of St Andrew, Sydney, and his remains cremated. ^[8] He was survived by Lady Jordan.

Frederick delighted to relax in his vast library, indulging his voracious appetite for romance languages, and committing to memory the entire contents of many literary works. He was a connoisseur of food and wine and a devotee of the arts, particularly literature and the live theatre. He was quite critical of things that obtruded upon the purity of the theatre. He wrote that "Cinematography is used to provide entertainment of the most debasingly vulgar type, with deplorable results to standards of public taste".

Sources

1. ↑ UK FreeBMD Birth Index Dec qtr 1881, vol 1a, page 67
2. ↑ New South Wales Marriage Index #217/1928
3. ↑ Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW: 1901 - 2001) Fri 12 Jan 1934 [Issue No.7 (SUPPLEMENT) Page 115; accessed 22 Nov 2023]
4. ↑ Australian Honours: KCMG; accessed 22 Nov 2023
5. ↑ Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW: 1901 - 2001) Fri 6 Jan 1939 [Issue No.3 (SUPPLEMENT) Page 71 NEW SOUTH WALES; accessed 22 Nov 2023]
6. ↑ Succession of Governors of New South Wales; accessed 22 Nov 2023
7. ↑ New South Wales death Index #24069/1949; registered at Newtown
8. ↑ Order of Service; accessed 22 Nov 2023

See also

• Bennett, J M. 'Jordan, Sir Frederick Richard (1881–1949)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1983; accessed online 22 Nov 2023.
• Research Data Australia; accessed 22 Nov 2023.
• Wikipedia: Frederick Jordan; accessed 22 Nov 2023.