Alexander Gerard Ralston

Brief description

PER-201

Full description

Alexander Gerard Ralston was born in Sydney on 10 November 1860, the son of Alexander James Ralston and his wife Edith Windeyer nee Thompson. He was educated at Sydney Grammar School and St Andrews College, University of Sydney (BA Hons 1881, MA 1883). In 1880 he was awarded the Deas-Thomson Scholarship, given to a third year student for proficiency in Chemistry and Experimental Physics, and in 1881 he was Belmore Medallist, a prize given for proficiency in geology and practical chemistry with special reference to agriculture. From 1 June 1882 to 29 February 1884 he was Associate to Justice William Charles Windeyer, of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, and clerk in the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Court.(1)

Admitted to the New South Wales Bar on 1 March 1884, in his practice Ralston specialised in shipping and commercial cases, as well as divorce and criminal cases. He was one of the fifty member strong Royal Commission on the consolidation of Statute Law, appointed on 28 December 1893, which reported on 4 June 1896. Ralston was a member of the New South Wales Bar Council from 1905/06 to 1918/19. He was appointed a King's Counsel on 7 February 1906.(2)

From 1894 to 1925 Ralston was an acting judge on a number of occasions, both in the District Courts and the Supreme Court of New South Wales. From 1 to 26 February 1894 he was Acting Judge of District Courts in the Metropolitan, Suburban and Hunter Districts. He was also an Acting District Court Judge in February and March 1905. Between 15 July and 26 July 1907, he was Acting Judge of the District Courts and Chairman of Quarter Sessions within the Western District to preside at Parramatta, Dubbo and Warren. In 1920 he again acted as a District Court Judge and Chairman of Quarter Sessions from 1 October to 23 October in the Southern and Hunter Districts, and from 1 to 20 November in the Metropolitan District. In 1919 he began his association with the Supreme Court, acting in all jurisdictions. He was an Acting Judge in the Supreme Court from 23 September to 31 December 1919, 18 October to 31 December 1922, 1 March 1923 to 12 April 1924, 28 July 1924 to 14 February 1925 and 1 June 1925 to 31 December 1925.(3)

Ralston had a long interest in local government. From 1887 to 1891 he was an alderman of Ashfield Municipal Council, from 1896 to 1901 an alderman of Burwood Municipal Council and in 1900-1901 Mayor of Burwood. From 7 December 1900 he was an alderman of the Municipal Council of Sydney, representing Bourke Ward, until 2 February 1906. However, he was not able to move from local government to State Parliament. He stood as a Protectionist candidate for the seat of Canterbury on 2 February 1889 in a multi-member seat. The Free Trade party won the seat with all four of their candidates being elected, including Joseph H Carruthers. On 3 July 1901 Ralston was not able to defeat the sitting member, William Archer, an Independent, in the single member electorate of Burwood. Ralston stood as a Liberal and Reform Party candidate.(4)

In 1884 Ralston married Mary Emily Windeyer, the daughter of Sir William Charles Windeyer. The family home was 'Kooroogama', Wentworth Road, Burwood later Strathfield. Ralston was a patron of the Sydney School of Arts and a member of the Council of the Zoological Society of NSW. He died on 11 July 1932. He was survived by three of his four sons, one of whom was Lt-Colonel Alexander Windeyer Ralston. Both his daughters predeceased him.(5)

Endnotes
1. Fred Johns, Johns's Notable Australians and Who's Who in Australasia, 1908, p.113; 1912, p.51; 1914, p.170-71; 1922, p.227; HJ Gibbney and Ann G Smith, A Biographical Register 1788-1939, Canberra, Australian Dictionary of Biography, 1987, Vol II, p.198; University of Sydney Calendar 1882-3, pp.70, 77-78, 86, 97, 146 http://calendararchive.usyd.edu.au/calendar/1882/1882-3.pdf (cited 17 March 2008); University of Sydney Calendar 1883-4, p.139 http://calendararchive.usyd.edu.au/calendar/1883/1883-4.pdf (cited 17 March 2008); Blue Books, Sydney, NSW Govt Printer, 1882, pp.70-71; 1883, pp.70-71; 1884, pp.76-77.
2. Barristers Admission Board; NRS 13665, Roll of Barristers, 1876-1926; Reel 2147, p. 2; Fred Johns, op.cit, 1908, p.113; New South Wales Blue Book for the year 1894, Sydney, NSW Government Printer, 1895, p.75-76; DH Borchardt, Checklist of Royal Commissions Select Committees of Parliament and Boards of Inquiry, Part IV New South Wales 1855-1960, Bundoora, La Trobe University Library, 1975, pp.173-74, 185; 'Bar Councillors 1902-2006', New South Wales Bar Association http://www.nswbar.asn.au/docs/about/history/bclist1902_1910.php and http://www.nswbar.asn.au/docs/about/history/bclist1910_1920.php (cited 22 January 2008); New South Wales Government Gazette No.77, 9 February 1906, p.970.
3. Blue Book, op.cit.,1894, p.161; Fred Johns, op.cit., 1908, p.258; NSW Government Gazette, No. 84, 17 July 1907, p.4003; No.184, 15 October 1920, p.6068; No.191, 29 October 1920, p.6303; No.229, 26 September 1919, p.5285; No.260, 21 November 1919, p.6400; No.151, 27 October 1922, p.5744; No.28, 2 March 1923, p.1277; No.42, 6 April 1923, p.1807; No.63, 1 June 1923, p.2499; No.84, 27 July 1923, p.3396; No.119, 5 October 1923, p.4471; No.37, 14 March 1924, p.1530; No.96, 25 July 1924, p.3696; No.139, 31 October 1924, p.4959; No.73, 29 May 1925, p.2336; No.158, 27 November 1925, p.5296.
4. Fred Johns, Who's Who in the Commonwealth of Australia 1922, Sydney, Angus and Roberston, 1922, p.227; Renato Perdon, Sydney's Aldermen: a biographical register of Sydney City Aldermen 1842-1992, Sydney, Sydney City Council, 1995, pp.85-6;'NSW Elections - Candidate Index - 46', New South Wales Election results 1856-2007 http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/resources/nswelectionsanalysis/CandidateIndexes/ CandidateIndex46.htm (cited 8 April 2008).
5. Fred Johns, op.cit., 1908, p.113; HJ Gibbney and Ann G Smith, op.cit.

Notes

Member, Royal Commission on the consolidation of Statute Law, 28/12/1893 - 04/06/1896
Acting Judge, District Courts, Metropolitan, Suburban and Hunter District, 01/02/1894 - 26/02/1894
Acting Judge, District Courts, 01/02/1905 - 31/03/1905
Acting Judge, District Courts, Western District, 15/07/1907 - 26/07/1907
Acting Chairman of Quarter Sessions, Western District, 15/07/1907 - 26/07/1907
Acting Judge, Supreme Court of New South Wales, 23/09/1919 - 31/12/1919
Acting Judge, District Courts, Southern and Hunter Districts, 01/10/1920 - 23/10/1920
Acting Chairman of Quarter Sessions, Southern and Hunter Districts, 01/10/1920 - 23/10/1920
Acting Judge, District Courts, Metropolitan District, 01/11/1920 - 20/11/1920
Acting Chairman of Quarter Sessions, Metropolitan District, 01/11/1920 - 20/11/1920
Acting Judge, Supreme Court of New South Wales, 18/10/1922 - 31/12/1922
Acting Judge, Supreme Court of New South Wales, 01/03/1923 - 12/04/1924
Acting Judge, Supreme Court of New South Wales, 28/071924 - 14/02/1925
Acting Judge, Supreme Court of New South Wales, 01/06/1925 - 31/12/1925