LETTERS PATENT, APPOINTMENT OF ARCHIBALD PAULL BURT AS QUEEN'S COUNSEL VIRGIN ISLANDS

This document is representative of the adherence to English legal traditions in the nineteenth century colonial setting of the British West Indies. The document appears complete (with embellishments) and is in original condition.
Archibald Burt's second Queen's Council appointment in the late 1840s (a decade after his first appointment) indicates the ongoing success of his legal career in public service in the West Indies.
Burt went on to become a key figure in the development of law in the English tradition in Western Australia and so documents associated with his earlier legal career are of great interest in understanding his actions and motivations in this area in later years.

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.