LETTER, DUKE OF NEWCASTLE TO ARCHIBALD PAULL BURT

This letter is an acknowledgment of the receipt by the Colonial Office of Archibald Paull Burt's letter (OCHLM 1976.36a,b) dated 12 days earlier seeking consideration for further promotion. While the response was fairly bland and non-committal it does demonstrate a part of the process by which Burt was actively seeking to progress his career which eventually led him to Western Australia 18 months later.

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.