In 1842, a young Anglo-Irish barrister, finding there were 40 hats on the Munster circuit but not enough work for 20 , set sail for the even younger settlement of Melbourne. William Stawell quickly made his mark in the nascent city, becoming Attorney-General within 10 years. He was a leading political figure and Governor Hotham’s chief adviser, as the colony moved towards self-government in the heady, unstable prosperity of the gold rush. He was, wrote the Argus, The Government .

\nThe catastrophic treason trials following the Eureka Rebellion should have sent Stawell to political oblivion - but they did not and, soon after, he was elected to the first Victorian Parliament under the new Constitution he had helped to write. A year later, in 1857, he manoeuvred himself into position as the Colony’s second Chief Justice, serving with great distinction for almost 30 years.

\nThe foreword to this biography comments as a judge, and Chief Justice, Stawell was ideal for his times . Dr Bennett reveals Stawell as an epitome of Victorian manly virtues: intellect, ambition, energy, bravery, charm, compassion. He shows why detractors would add arrogance, impatience and ruthlessness, and why history sustains the contemporary verdict on Stawell’s death in 1889: one may see in the life now terminated the history of Victoria personified