LETTER, GOVERNOR OF ANTIGUA TO LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF ST KITTS, REFUSAL TO APPOINT ARCHIBALD PAULL BURT CHIEF JUSTICE

This group of documents, comprising contemporary copies of a letter from the Governor of Antigua and a despatch from Downing Street, London illustrates the hierarchy of the administration of the British Leeward Islands (which included St Christopher) in the late 1840s. This group appears complete and in original condition.
Burt's Chief Justice provisional appointment was made by the Lieut. Governor of St Christopher who was subordinate to the Governor of Antigua. The Governor of Antigua wrote to the Colonial Office in London about this appointment with his recommendation of a different candidate for the Chief Justice role. The Secretary of State of the Colonies wrote back endorsing the Governor of Antigua's choice and asking that he contact the Lieut. Governor of St Christopher to inform Burt that his provisional appointment would not be confirmed.

Burt went on to become a key figure in the development of law in the English tradition in Western Australia.
Sir Archibald Paull Burt (1810-1879) was born into a plantation-owning family on St Kitts Island (formerly St Christopher in the West Indies). Burt accepted the position of Civil Commissioner and Chairman of Quarter Sessions in Western Australia in 1860. In January 1861 he arrived in Western Australia with his family. Burt was instrumental in establishing the Supreme Court Australia in 1861 and became the first Chief Justice of Western Australia. Knighted for his contributions in 1873, he maintained a secluded life to ensure impartiality and professional detachment as sole judge in the colony until his death in 1879. Archibald Paull Burt’s impact and lasting legacy in Western Australia continues through his family members who have held governmental and legislative roles in the state for multiple generations.