George Burnett Barton
Encyclopedia
George Burnett Barton was an Australia
n lawyer, journalist and historian.
Barton was born in Sydney
, the second son of William Barton and elder brother of Sir Edmund Barton
. He was educated at William Timothy Cape
's school and at the University of Sydney
. After a dispute with Professor John Woolley he left for England
, there he was admitted to the Middle Temple
on 20 April 1857 and called to the Bar in 1860.
Barton returned to Australia and became a journalist and was the first editor of the Sydney Punch. From 1865 to 1868 he was reader in English literature at the University of Sydney; his introductory lecture, The Study of English Literature, was published in 1866. Also in the same year appeared his Literature in New South Wales and Poets and Prose Writers of New South Wales, the first volumes of a bibliographical and critical character to be published in Australia.
Barton went to New Zealand
in 1868, and for about two years was editor of the Otago Daily Times
. He practised for some time as a barrister and solicitor at Dunedin
, and in 1875 published A Digest of the Law and Practice of Resident Magistrates and District Courts. He returned to Australia in the 1880s and did much writing for the Sydney Evening News and the Sydney Morning Herald. He was then commissioned by the government to write the History of New South Wales From the Records, of which he completed only the first volume, published in 1889. His The True Story of Margaret Catchpole was published posthumously in 1924. He died in Goulburn Hospital on 12 September 1901 of influenza.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n lawyer, journalist and historian.
Barton was born in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, the second son of William Barton and elder brother of Sir Edmund Barton
Edmund Barton
Sir Edmund Barton, GCMG, KC , Australian politician and judge, was the first Prime Minister of Australia and a founding justice of the High Court of Australia....
. He was educated at William Timothy Cape
William Timothy Cape
William Timothy Cape was an early school master in Sydney, Australia; several of the Premiers of New South Wales attended his school....
's school and at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
. After a dispute with Professor John Woolley he left for England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, there he was admitted to the Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
on 20 April 1857 and called to the Bar in 1860.
Barton returned to Australia and became a journalist and was the first editor of the Sydney Punch. From 1865 to 1868 he was reader in English literature at the University of Sydney; his introductory lecture, The Study of English Literature, was published in 1866. Also in the same year appeared his Literature in New South Wales and Poets and Prose Writers of New South Wales, the first volumes of a bibliographical and critical character to be published in Australia.
Barton went to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in 1868, and for about two years was editor of the Otago Daily Times
Otago Daily Times
The Otago Daily Times is a newspaper published by Allied Press Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand.-History:Originally styled The Otago Daily Times, the ODT was first published on November 15, 1861. It is New Zealand's oldest surviving daily newspaper - Christchurch's The Press, six months older, was a...
. He practised for some time as a barrister and solicitor at Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
, and in 1875 published A Digest of the Law and Practice of Resident Magistrates and District Courts. He returned to Australia in the 1880s and did much writing for the Sydney Evening News and the Sydney Morning Herald. He was then commissioned by the government to write the History of New South Wales From the Records, of which he completed only the first volume, published in 1889. His The True Story of Margaret Catchpole was published posthumously in 1924. He died in Goulburn Hospital on 12 September 1901 of influenza.