Samuel Way

{{Short description|Australian politician}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}} {{Infobox officeholder |honorific_prefix = [[The Right Honourable]] |name = Sir Samuel Way |honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=AUS|size=100%|PC|Bt}} |image = Samuel James Way 2.jpeg |order = |office = 3rd [[List of University of Adelaide people#Chancellors|Chancellor of the University of Adelaide]] |term_start = 1883 |term_end = 8 January 1916 |predecessor = Rt Rev. [[Augustus Short]] |successor = [[George John Robert Murray|Sir George Murray]] |office1 = [[List of judges of the Supreme Court of South Australia|Chief Justice of South Australia]] |term_start1 = 18 March 1876 |term_end1 = 8 January 1916 |predecessor1 = [[Richard Hanson (Australian politician)|Sir Richard Hanson]] |successor1 = [[George John Robert Murray|Sir George Murray]] |office2 = [[Governor of South Australia|Administrator of South Australia]] |term_start2 = 17 July 1902 |term_end2 = 30 June 1903 |predecessor2 = [[Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson|Lord Tennyson]] {{small|([[Governor of South Australia|as Governor]])}} |successor2 = [[George Le Hunte|Sir George Le Hunte]] {{small|([[Governor of South Australia|as Governor]])}} |order2 = | office3 = [[List of University of Adelaide people#Vice-chancellors|2nd Vice-Chancellor]] of the [[University of Adelaide]] | term_start3 = 1876 | term_end3 = 1883 | chancellor3 = [[Augustus Short]] | predecessor3 = Augustus Short | successor3 = Rev. [[William Roby Fletcher|W. Roby Fletcher]] |office4 = Attorney-General of South Australia |term_start4 = 3 June 1875 |term_end4 = 18 March 1876 |predecessor4 = [[Charles Mann (Australian politician)|Charles Mann]] |successor4 = [[Henry Gawler (lawyer)|Henry Gawler]] |premier2 = [[James Boucaut]] |constituency_MP4 = [[Electoral district of Sturt (South Australia)|Sturt]] |parliament5 = South Australian |term_start5 = 10 February 1875 |term_end5 = 20 March 1876 |predecessor5 = [[William Mair (South Australian politician)|William Mair]] |successor5 = [[Thomas King (Australian politician)|Thomas King]] |birth_name = |birth_date = {{birth date|1836|4|11|df=y}} |birth_place = [[Portsmouth]], Hampshire, England |death_date = {{death date and age|1916|1|8|1836|4|11|df=y}} |death_place = [[North Adelaide, South Australia]] |party = |spouse = |father = Reverend [[James Way]] |alma_mater = |education = |profession = }}

'''Sir Samuel James Way, 1st Baronet''', {{post-nominals|country=AUS|size=100%|sep=,}} (11 April 1836 – 8 January 1916) was an English-Australian jurist who served as [[Chief Justice]] of the [[Supreme Court of South Australia]] from 18 March 1876 until 8 January 1916.

==Background== [[File:Samuel James Way.jpeg|thumb|right]] Way was born in [[Portsmouth]], England. Reverend [[James Way]], his father, was a [[clergyman]] in the [[Bible Christian Church]], who emigrated to [[Adelaide]], [[South Australia]] in 1850 along with his wife and four younger children to establish a [[mission (Christian)|mission]]. Samuel, the eldest child, remained behind, studying at [[Shebbear College]] in [[Shebbear, England|Shebbear]], a small village in [[North Devon]], and later at a school in [[Chatham, Medway|Chatham]] in [[Kent]]. He left England to rejoin his family at the end of 1852, arriving in [[Adelaide]] in March 1853. He was soon employed in the office of [[John Tuthill Bagot]], at that time a [[barrister]], and in 1856 became an [[articled clerk]] to Alfred Atkinson (c. 1825 – 4 June 1861), solicitor of [[King William Street, Adelaide|King William Street]].<ref name="Register_statue_unveiling">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article64057554 |title=A Distinguished Citizen |newspaper=[[The Register (Adelaide)|The Register]] |date=18 November 1924 |access-date=14 December 2012 |page=10 |via=Trove}}</ref>

==Legal and judicial career== On 25 March 1861, Way was admitted to the [[Bar council|South Australian Bar]] to practice law, and when Atkinson died shortly afterwards, Way inherited his practice.<ref name="Register_statue_unveiling"/> Way practised as a [[barrister]] and quickly became a leader among the legal community, and in 1868 joined a partnership with another barrister, James Brook.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48109954 |title=Out Among the People |newspaper=[[The Advertiser (Adelaide)|The Advertiser]] |date=20 July 1954 |access-date=13 December 2012 |page=4 |via=Trove}}</ref> In September 1871, Way was made a [[Queen's Counsel]], despite having been admitted to the bar only ten years earlier. When Brook died in 1872, a young [[Josiah Symon]] joined Way as partner. Way continued to be highly successful, travelling to London to argue a number of cases before the [[Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]]. In 1874, Way was elected as a member of the council of the [[University of Adelaide]], and was also appointed to the South Australian Board of Education.<ref name="Register_statue_unveiling"/>

In 1875, Way was elected to the [[South Australian House of Assembly]] as the member for [[South Australian House of Assembly electoral districts#Electoral Districts|Sturt]], and on 3 June of that year joined the [[James Boucaut|Boucaut government]] as [[Attorney-General of South Australia]].<ref name="SA parl">{{Cite SA-parl |pid=4006 |name=Rt Hon Sir Samuel James Way Bt KC |former=yes |access-date=20 December 2022}}</ref> He was only a politician for a short time, however, since in March 1876, at the age of just thirty-nine, he was appointed [[Supreme Court of South Australia|Chief Justice of South Australia]] following the death of [[Richard Hanson (Australian politician)|Richard Hanson]] on 4 March. Since it is the role of the Attorney-General to recommend judicial candidates to the cabinet, it has been suggested that Way probably nominated himself to be Chief Justice.<ref>{{cite web | title=Our first Grand Master, Bro Samuel J Way | work=Freemasons South Australia and Northern Territory | url=http://www.freemasonrysaust.org.au/sjway.html | access-date=2006-03-02 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://archive.today/20060821202955/http://www.freemasonrysaust.org.au/sjway.html | archivedate=21 August 2006 }}</ref> Way soon gained a reputation as an excellent lawyer, and it has been said that none of his decisions were ever successfully appealed to a higher court.<ref>{{Dictionary of Australian Biography | First=Samuel | Last=Way | shortlink=0-dict-biogWa.html#way2}}</ref> Later in 1876 he was appointed as the [[Chancellor (education)|vice-chancellor]] of the University of Adelaide, and in 1883 became the [[chancellor (education)|chancellor]], a position he would hold until his death.<ref name="ADB">{{Australian Dictionary of Biography |id2=way-sir-samuel-james-9014 |title=Way, Sir Samuel James (1836–1916) |first=J. J. |last=Bray |volume=12 |year=1990 |access-date=2022-12-20}}</ref> [[File:J150W-statue-Way.jpg|thumb|Statue of Sir Samuel Way on [[North Terrace, Adelaide]] in front of the [[University of Adelaide]].]] In 1877, Way was called upon to act as acting [[Governor of South Australia]]. In January 1891 he was appointed to the position of [[Lieutenant governor|Lieutenant-Governor of South Australia]], a position subordinate to the state Governor. In January 1897, Way became the first Australian to be appointed to the [[Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]] and was sworn into the position in Westminster on 18 May 1897, and gaining the title [[The Right Honourable]].<ref>{{Cite journal |date=25 May 1897 |title=Edinburgh Gazette |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/Edinburgh/issue/10886/page/485/data.pdf#view=Fit&toolbar=1 |journal=Edinburgh Gazette |issue=10,886 |pages=485}}</ref>

In 1899 he was created a '''Baronet''', of [[Montefiore Hill|Montefiore]], [[North Adelaide]], and [[Mintaro, South Australia|Kadlunga Mintaro]], both in the Colony of [[South Australia]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27174 |date=16 March 1900 |page=1791 }}</ref>

In 1902, when Lord Tennyson vacated the role of [[Governor of South Australia]] to assume the role of [[Governor-General of Australia]], Way was commissioned as Administrator of South Australia, and remained in that role until 1903.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=17 July 1902 |title=PROCLAMATION BY THE LIEUTENANT - GOVERNOR NOTIFYING ASSUMPTION OF OFFICE AS ADMINISTRATOR. |url=https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/other/sa_gazette/1902/32.pdf |journal=The South Australian Government Gazette |volume=1902 |issue=32 |pages=77 |via=Australian Legal Information Institute}}</ref>

In October 1905, it was Way who publicly pronounced that [[Catherine Helen Spence]], writer and suffragist, social worker and feminist was the most distinguished woman in Australia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenational.scot/news/18342327.scot-lauded-grand-old-woman-australia/|title=The Scot who was lauded as the Grand Old Woman of Australia …|website=The National|date=29 March 2020 |language=en|access-date=2020-03-29}}</ref>

Way was a Freemason and Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of South Australia and Northern Territory from 1884 to 1916, apart from the period 1889–95 when the position was occupied by the Governor, the [[Algernon Keith-Falconer, 9th Earl of Kintore|Earl of Kintore]].<ref>[http://www.santfreemasons.org.au/content/past-grand-masters Past Grand Masters of The Grand Lodge of South Australia and Northern Territory] Retrieved 4 May 2015.</ref>

==Personal life== Way married Mrs. Katherine Gollan Blue (née Gordon) on 11 April 1898.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article54545678 |title=Marriage of the Chief Justice |newspaper=[[South Australian Register]] |date=11 April 1898 |access-date=13 December 2012 |page=4 |via=Trove}}</ref> She was the widow of Dr. William Archibald Sinclair Blue (died 18 September 1896) of [[Strathalbyn, South Australia|Strathalbyn]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article98922254 |title=Family Notices. |newspaper=[[Southern Argus]] |date=24 September 1896 |access-date=22 May 2015 |page=2 |via=Trove}} W. A. Blue was father of Shylie Katharine Blue (1882-1959) mother of [[Henry Way Rymill]].</ref> The time and whereabouts of the wedding, which was the subject of great public interest, were a closely kept secret until well after the event.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article166957433 |title=Fair and Unfair |newspaper=[[Quiz and the Lantern]] |date=14 April 1898 |access-date=20 April 2019 |page=11 |via=Trove}}</ref>

[[File:Montefiore North Adelaide Eastern View 1890.png|thumb|Eastern view c. 1890 of Montefiore, Way's residence at North Adelaide. After his death the second storey was removed. The house is now a part of [[Aquinas College, Adelaide|Aquinas College]].]]

Way became ill in 1914, and was diagnosed with [[cancer]]. He travelled to [[Sydney]] to have his arm [[amputation|amputated]], in an attempt to delay the cancer. The operation failed to prevent his health from deteriorating, but he continued his work as Chief Justice until December 1915. He died early the following year in [[North Adelaide, South Australia|North Adelaide]].

==Recognition== [[File:Sir Samuel Way Building in Adelaide, May 2026 (028A4530).jpg|thumb|Samuel Way Building on [[Victoria Square, Adelaide]] ]] The baronetcy became extinct on his death. The geological feature Mount Sir Samuel and the town of [[Sir Samuel, Western Australia|Sir Samuel]] in the [[Goldfields-Esperance|Goldfields]] region of [[Western Australia]] were named after him.

A statue was unveiled on 17 November 1924, located on [[North Terrace, Adelaide]], in front of the [[University of Adelaide]].<ref name="Register_statue_unveiling"/>

The Sir Samuel Way Building on [[Victoria Square, Adelaide]], was originally a major retail outlet for [[Charles Moore and Co.]] In 1983 it was sold to the state government and was named after him.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Bibliography== * Hannan, A. J., C. M. G., Q. C., ''The Life of Chief Justice Way'', Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1960. * Emerson, Dr. John, ''First Among Equals'', University of Adelaide Barr Smith Press, Adelaide, 2004, pp 11–56.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Way, Samuel}} [[Category:1836 births]] [[Category:1916 deaths]] [[Category:Chief justices of South Australia]] [[Category:People educated at Shebbear College]] [[Category:Australian King's Counsel]] [[Category:Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Australian members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Lawyers from Adelaide]] [[Category:Vice-chancellors of the University of Adelaide]] [[Category:Chancellors of the University of Adelaide]] [[Category:Australian recipients of a British baronetcy]] [[Category:Colony of South Australia judges]] [[Category:Attorneys-general of South Australia]] [[Category:Lieutenant-governors of South Australia]] [[Category:Members of the South Australian House of Assembly]] [[Category:Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]] [[Category:English emigrants to colonial Australia]] [[Category:Judges of the Supreme Court of South Australia]] [[Category:20th-century Australian judges]] [[Category:19th-century Australian judges]] [[Category:Australian book and manuscript collectors]] [[Category:Australian Freemasons]] [[Category:People from Portsmouth]] [[Category:British emigrants to the Colony of South Australia]]