Richard O'Connor (Australian politician)
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The Honourable Richard O'Connor QC |
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Official portrait of O'Connor, c. 1910
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| Justice of the High Court of Australia | |
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In office 5 October 1903 – 18 November 1912 |
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| Nominated by | Alfred Deakin |
| Appointed by | Henry Northcote, 1st Baron Northcote |
| Preceded by | none |
| Succeeded by | Sir Frank Gavan Duffy |
| Vice-President of the Executive Council Leader of the Government in the Senate | |
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In office 1 January 1901 – 24 September 1903 |
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| Preceded by | none |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Playford |
| Senator for New South Wales | |
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In office 29 March 1901 – 27 September 1903 |
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| Succeeded by | Charles Mackellar |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
4 August 1851 Glebe, New South Wales |
| Died | 18 November 1912 (aged 61) Darlinghurst, New South Wales |
| Political party | Protectionist |
| Spouse(s) | Sarah Jane Hensleigh |
| Alma mater | University of Sydney |
| Occupation | Barrister |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Richard Edward O'Connor QC (4 August 1851 – 18 November 1912) was an Australian politician and judge.
A barrister and later Queen's Counsel, O'Connor was active in the campaign for Australian Federation and was a close associate of Edmund Barton. He served as New South Wales Minister for Justice in the Dibbs ministry from 1891 to 1893 while a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council (1888–98), and was a member of the constitutional committee at the Federal Convention that drafted the Australian Constitution. A member of the first federal ministry as Vice-President of the Executive Council, O'Connor led the government in the Senate from 1901 to 1903, playing a key role in the development of that chamber's role in Australian politics.
O'Connor resigned from Parliament in 1903 to become one of the inaugural justices of the High Court of Australia, which he had helped to create. He had a reputation as a liberal and independent-minded justice who occasionally voted with the progressives on industrial matters after 1906. He was also the first president of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration from 1905 to 1907, and he continued to serve on the High Court until his early death in 1912.
Richard Edward O'Connor was born in the Sydney suburb of Glebe on 4 August 1851. His mother was Mary Anne, née Harnett, while his father was Richard, an Irish-born Catholic who at that time served as librarian to the New South Wales Legislative Council, and would later become Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, chairing its first meeting. His family believed itself to be descended from the Irish republican rebel Arthur O'Connor, and also counted the prominent Tasmanian pioneer Roderic O'Connor among their relations. Richard Edward, sometimes known as Dick, attended St Mary's College, a Benedictine school in Lyndhurst, from 1861 to 1866 before matriculating at Sydney Grammar School in 1867 and studying at the University of Sydney. From a young age his closest friend was Edmund Barton, in whose Cabinet O'Connor would later serve. He won the Wentworth medal for the best English essay in 1870, and received a Bachelor of Arts in 1871 and a Master of Arts in 1873.
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