Edmund Sheppard

Edmund Sheppard (1 November 1826 – 22 December 1882) was a Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland.^[1]

1874 Portrait of Mr. Justice Edmund Sheppard wearing his official judge's robes and wig.

Early life

Sheppard was the fourth son of Samuel Sheppard, of Taunton, Somerset, England,^[1] and his wife, Harriett Deane (née Allen).^[2] Edmund was born in Taunton and educated there and in London where he was called to the bar at the Inner Temple in June 1857.

Career in Australia

Sheppard went to Sydney, New South Wales, shortly after being called to the bar.^[1] Sheppard married, firstly, in July 1860, Mary Grace, daughter of the late C. E. Murray, of Sydney, who died in June 1869. He practised at the bar in Sydney, and in 1866 was appointed District Court Judge of Queensland.^[1] Judge Sheppard married, secondly, in December 1871, Adela, daughter of the late E. J. Murray, solicitor, of London. He became Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland on 17 July 1874; and died in London on 22 December 1882^[1] having taken leave of absence earlier in the year due to ill-health.^[2]

Legacy

Sheppard's second son William Fleetwood Sheppard, became a mathematician.^[3] The court complex in Townsville, opened in 1975, was named the Edmund Sheppard Building in recognition of his service as the first Northern Judge of the court.^[2]

External links

• Photograph of Mr. Justice Edmund Sheppard, ca. 1874
• "Adelaide and London Telegraph". South Australian Register. Adelaide, S.A.: National Library of Australia. 29 December 1882. p. 5. Retrieved 26 August 2014. (Death Notice.)

References

1. Mennell, Philip (1892). "Sheppard, Hon. Edmund" . The Dictionary of Australasian Biography. London: Hutchinson & Co – via Wikisource.
2. "The Honourable Edmund Sheppard". Supreme Court of Queensland Library. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
3. Mennell, Philip (1892). "Sheppard, William Fleetwood" . The Dictionary of Australasian Biography. London: Hutchinson & Co – via Wikisource.