32 Facts About Josiah Symon

Josiah Symon was a Senator for South Australia from 1901 to 1913 and Attorney-General of Australia from 1904 to 1905.

Josiah Symon immigrated to South Australia in 1866 and became one of the colony's leading barristers.

Josiah Symon was appointed Attorney-General of South Australia in 1881, serving only a few months, and won election to the Parliament of South Australia in the same year.

Josiah Symon served as Attorney-General in the Reid government.

Josiah Symon was born in Wick, a town in the county of Caithness in the Scottish Highlands, in 1846.

Josiah Symon was educated at Stirling High School, where he was the dux in 1862, before attending the Free Church Training College in Edinburgh.

Josiah Symon's brother, David Symon, was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia.

Josiah Symon was a distant cousin of Magnus Cormack, who was born in Wick and served as President of the Senate in the 1970s.

Josiah Symon, having completed his studies, was called to the bar in 1871, and admitted to practice as a barrister.

In 1872, after the death of one of the partners at Way's firm, Josiah Symon became a partner alongside Way.

In 1876, Way was appointed as a judge, and Josiah Symon bought out his part of the business.

In March 1881, Josiah Symon was made Attorney-General of South Australia in the Morgan government, although at the time he had not been elected to the Parliament of South Australia.

Josiah Symon was elected as the member for Sturt in the South Australian House of Assembly several weeks later.

Later in 1881, Josiah Symon was made a Queen's Counsel, and on 8 December of that year he married Mary Cowle, with whom he was to have five sons and seven daughters.

In 1884, Josiah Symon was offered a judicial position, but he declined to accept it.

Josiah Symon travelled to England in 1886, and was offered a nomination for a seat in the British House of Commons, however he declined this opportunity.

Josiah Symon was a highly effective and ruthless advocate: in 1889 he successfully prosecuted the William Hutchison libel case against J B Mather and George Ash of The Narracoorte Herald.

Josiah Symon was an ardent supporter of the cause of Federation, and frustrated by the apathy the question commonly received in South Australia.

Josiah Symon was knighted on the day of the proclamation of the new Commonwealth.

Josiah Symon stood for election to the Australian Senate at the 1901 election for the Free Trade Party, and was placed first overall by the voters of South Australia.

Josiah Symon was made leader of the opposition in the Senate, and was a leader within the Free Trade Party on tariff policy.

When Griffith asked for some bookshelves to be installed in the Darlinghurst courthouse, so that his law library might be moved from his offices in Brisbane, Josiah Symon criticised Griffith for holding any sittings outside Melbourne, and began intrusive inspections of the judges' travel expenses.

Later, in 1930, when Josiah Symon was president of the Adelaide branch of the Royal Empire Society, he was an outspoken opponent of James Scullin's nomination of Isaacs as Governor-General of Australia.

In 1909, when the Free Trade Party and the Protectionist Party merged to form the Commonwealth Liberal Party, Josiah Symon was one of a small group of politicians who did not join, instead remaining in Parliament as an independent.

Josiah Symon did not hold any other ministerial positions, and eventually left the Senate after losing his seat in the 1913 election.

Josiah Symon continued to practice as a barrister until his retirement in 1923 at the age of seventy-seven.

Josiah Symon was survived by his wife, his five sons and five of his seven daughters.

The Lady Josiah Symon Building, designed by Woods, Bagot, Jory and Laybourne-Smith and built in 1927 as part of the Union Buildings at the University of Adelaide, was named after his wife.

Josiah Symon was a lover of history and literature, and was nominated as a founding member of the Parliamentary Library Committee, which oversees the Parliament of Australia Parliamentary Library.

Josiah Symon had a massive personal collection of approximately ten thousand books, which he ultimately bequeathed to the State Library of South Australia.

Josiah Symon had already donated his collection of law texts to the Law School at the University of Adelaide in 1924.

Josiah Symon wrote and published a number of books, including Shakespeare at Home, published in 1905, and Shakespeare the Englishman, published in 1929.