William a Beckett

William a Beckett Poems

William a Beckett Biography

Sir William à Beckett (28 July 1806 – 27 June 1869) was a British barrister and the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria. Born in London, he was the eldest son of William à Beckett, also a solicitor. His younger brothers were Gilbert Abbott à Beckett, one of the original staff of Punch magazine and the author of 'Comic History of England', and Thomas Turner à Beckett (13 September 1808-1 July 1892). He was educated at Westminster School, publishing a youthful volume of verse, The Siege of Dumbarton Castle, in 1824. However with his poetry he could not earn enough money to support his family, and so he decided to become a barrister.[citation needed] In 1829 he was called to the bar by Lincoln's Inn. In 1837, à Beckett migrated to New South Wales and edited the 'Literary News', a short-lived newspaper. He was appointed acting solicitor-general for the colony in March 1841, and solicitor-general in March 1843. In July 1844 he became an acting judge, and was made a full puisne judge. In January 1846, he was transferred to the Court of the Resident Judge, the branch of the Supreme Court of New South Wales in Melbourne and sat as primary judge in equity. Following his appointment, he was created a knight bachelor. When in January 1852 the separate colony of Victoria was proclaimed he became its first Chief Justice. He returned to Melbourne in December 1854 in time to participate in the Eureka Stockade trials. Although often accused of the inflammatory comments at the trial of the arsonists of the Eureka Hotel, it was the actually the Acting Chief Justice Redmond Barry who sparked the Eureka uprising.À Beckett retired as Chief Justice in 1857 due to poor health, and in 1863 he returned to England. Politically conservative, à Beckett was strongly opposed to the social disruption caused by the Victorian Gold Rush and under the pseudonym 'Colonus' espoused his views in an influential pamphlet somewhat cumbersomely entitled Does the Discovery of Gold in Victoria Viewed in Relation to its Moral and Social Effects as Hitherto Developed Deserve to be Considered a National Blessing or a National Curse? late in 1852. He presided over a number of important trials including the robbers of gold from the barque Nelson in Hobson's Bay in 1852, but growing disillusion with the state of society in Victoria saw him leave for England with his family in February 1853. He wrote a number of books, including several volumes of his poetry, and a manual for magistrates of the Court of Petty Sessions, the predecessor of the Magistrates Court of Victoria. À Beckett married firstly Emily Hayley in 1832. She died on 1 June 1841 and he married secondly Matilda Hayley, her sister, in 1849. They had 13 children, probably some from Emily.[citation needed] À Beckett died in London on 27 June 1869 and was buried in West Norwood Cemetery. He was survived by four sons, of whom William (1833-1901) married Emma Mills (1838-1906), the daughter of a convict who later founded a brewery in Melbourne. Their daughter Emma Minnie Boyd, a successful painter, married another painter Arthur Merric Boyd, to found the artistic Boyd dynasty. His nephew Thomas à Beckett, son of his brother Thomas, was also a puisne judge in Australia.)

The Best Poem Of William a Beckett

The First Goldrush At Melbourne

I.
How it moves us--how it proves us--
This bewildering tale of gold!
How they glisten--how they listen--
Eyes and ears when it is told!
How it sets us all a-raving,
How it sets us all a-craving,
Thinking of what might be got,
If we were but on the spot!
Gone are many, some still linger,
Waiting with unquiet heart,
And few feel not itching finger,
As they see the rest depart,

II.
In the bush, and in the city,
'Gold's' the universal ditty,
Not alone the pauper--miser--
Slaves of avarice or want,
But the wealthier and the wiser
Seek for baptism at its font.
Men who'd think it a base libel,
If 'twas hinted they were poor;
Men who talk about their Bible,
And plates hold at the church door--
Labour-hirer, working man,
Clerk, mechanic, artisan,
Washed and unwashed--high and low,
Mingle in the current's flow
That doth to the 'diggins' go.

III.
What is this strange scene we near,
New to eye and new to ear?
See them delving there below,
Ev'ry dig a gamester's throw;
What is this they pause to view--
Turning o'er and looking through?
Ha!--the glittering ore appears,
Gone are all their long-felt fears;
Dig, my boys--behold, behold--
Dig away--for this is gold!

IV.
Look around on all the scene,
Much that's mournful doth it mean.
See how they eye one another,
Should thus brother look on brother?
Yonder scowling visage mark,
Well it is not lone or dark,
For if murder could be done,
There, to do it, standeth one.

V.
Night is come, and here and there
Sleepers close their eyes in prayer;
But 'neath more than one tarpaulin
There is drinking, gaming, brawling--
Ending oft in challenged fight
To be fought by Sabbath light,
If, perchance, the coming morn
Of a week-day should be born--
For e'en hatred can keep cold
Sooner than stop work for gold,
Digging for it, as if God
Had hid salvation 'neath the sod!

VI.
Gold! supreme is thy dominion,
God of church upon whose creed
Every nation is agreed;
Where's another one on which
Holds mankind the same opinion--
'Tis expedient to be rich?
Missionary in Christ's name,
Would but find reception tame,
By the side of him who came
Thy evangel to proclaim.
With a faith that never falters,
With a trust that heeds no shock
Millions kneel before thy altars,
Millions to they temple flock.
Never yet was homage found
Unto King of earth or heaven
As to they so freely given--
Thee the monarch underground!

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