An architect of freedom : John Hubert Plunkett in New South Wales, 1832-1869

Abstract

Irish-born John Hubert Plunkett, descendant of an ancient family and a Trinity College-trained lawyer, came to New South Wales in 1832 to take up the position of Solicitor-General. A quiet, cultivated man, and a Roman Catholic, he was an incongruous figure in the hurly-burly of colonial life. He was an idealist, a man of determination and integrity, a liberal before his time. In the fields of law, government, and education, and particularly as Attorney-General from 1836 to 1856, he played a vital role in the transition period that saw New South Wales shaking free from its penal past and developing into a free society. An Architect of Freedom is more than the study of one man. It is a scholarly and readable account of a so-far much neglected period of colonial history, invaluable to the student of political and social history, and to the lawyer, and fascinating reading for the layman.