On this day in 1837 James Dowling became the second Chief Justice of New South Wales, succeeding Francis Forbes. Dowling arrived in Sydney in February 1828. Like Forbes, his first years on the Bench of the Supreme Court were shaped by libel cases, ‘pregnant with political excitement and party feeling’, between Governor Darling and the colony’s scurrilous newspapers, the Monitor and The Australian. Much like his predecessor, the incessant demands of judicial office, service on the Legislative Council and ongoing financial difficulties combined to exact a toll on his health. On 27 June 1844 Dowling collapsed while on the Bench and died three months later. Renowned for his meticulous record keeping, he was responsible for publishing the colony’s first set of law reports, which documented the early work of the Supreme Court and the development of a distinct Australian common law.
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