John Wylde

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Sir John Wylde (11 May 1781-13 December 1859) was a deputy judge advocate born at Warwick Square, Newgate Street, London. He was the oldest son of Thomas Wylde and Mary Anne, née Knight.

Educated at St Paul's School in London, and at Trinity College, Cambridge, Wylde was called to the Bar there in 1805. It was at St. Benedict's, Cambridge, that Wylde married Elizabeth Jane, with whom he fathered nine children. While Wylde signed his marriage certificate with his birth name, many of his relations later adopted the surname 'Wilde', spelled with a character 'i'.

[edit] Deputy judge advocate of New South Wales

Having been successful in his law-related work, Wylde accepted the position of Deputy judge advocate of New South Wales, with a salary of approximately £1200 per annum. Wylde arrived in Sydney on October 5 of the following year on the ship Elizabeth. He was accompanied by his wife, six of his children, Joshua John Moore, his brother-in-law (who acted as Wylde's clerk), and his father, Thomas Wylde. Wylde, having considered Ellis Bent's recommendation for 'a professional person … as Clerk of the Peace' to help in his new judge-advocate position, recommended his father for the role.

Posted as the deputy judge advocate of New South Wales, Wyldes duties proved widely varied and arduous, as he effectively simultaneously filled the roles of Committing Magistrate, public prosecutor and Judge. Despite the apparent complexity and difficulty of his position, Wylde discharged his duties faithfully and properly, and at times, revolutionised several of the statutes of the courts and legal system in the new colony; he did not allow convict attorneys to practise in his court, oversaw the establishment of a supreme court in Van Diemen's Land and revised the port regulations of Ellis Bent.

In 1821, Wylde sent a report of the judicial and legal state and process of establishment in the new colony to Commissioner John Bigge. This report described at length the need for the laws of New South Wales to be modified so that they would be in near parallel with those of England. This report, along with Wylde's way of handling his many judicial duties, his suggestions and, at times, even Wylde himself, were fiercely criticised in a confidential letter from Bigge to Henry Bathurst on 9 September 1822. The criticism was so intense and detailed, that it was considered by many to be overly harsh. After a farewell speech at the final sitting of the Governor's Court in May 1824, in which he strongly defended himself, Wylde left his post. His legal career continued however, and in March 1824 he became a judge of the supreme court, until 17 May, when Francis Forbes opened a new Supreme Court which superseded the one Wylde was at, and Wylde's work there ceased. Wylde sailed to England in 1825, was knighted in 1827 and was then appointed Chief Justice of the new court of the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.

[edit] Personal life

Wylde had and received many land grants, including over 800 hectares of land at Cabramatta, and over 50 hectares in Potts Point. At Pott's Point Wylde built a palatial home where he lived in for many years. Wylde founded what would become a renowned and respected horse stud, became the president of the Benevolent Society, and enjoyed reading the classics. Wylde also had a love of music, and had a piano imported to New South Wales. Among his most treasured musical instruments were a century-old cello and a flute. He was also known to be a very devoted parent.

Wylde died on 13 December 1859. He never left South Africa after being appointed chief justice in Cape Town. A portrait of him, painted in 1827 by Martin Shee, is at Parliament House, Cape Town.

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