William Cumbrae-Stewart

Stewart – the name ‘Cumbrae-Stewart’ was adopted later -- was born on 27 January 1865 at Riversleigh, Canterbury, New Zealand, son of Francis Edward Stewart, grazier, and his wife Agnes, née Park. His much younger sister was the well-known Australian artist, Janet Agnes Cumbrae Stewart (1883-1960). In 1887 Stewart took second-class honours in modern history at Christ Church, Oxford. In 1887 he was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple. He would later complete his Bachelor of Civil Law (B.C.L.) with third-class honours (1897). Steward came to Queensland after he practised at the Victorian Bar in 1890-92 and later as a country solicitor. He had been admitted to the Queensland Bar in September 1890, but did not practise in Brisbane until 1898. In 1903 Stewart joined Thynne and Macartney as managing clerk.

Cumbrae-Stewart was appointed foundational Registrar and Librarian of the University of Queensland in 1910. In 1922 he was awarded a Doctor of Civil Law from Oxford for the thesis, “Actio Pauliana; its origin development and nature.” In January 1926 Cumbrae-Stewart became Garrick Professor of Law, laying the foundation for the full faculty that was set up when he retired in 1936.

Although not a well-published researcher, Cumbrae-Stewart was an important contributor to the discipline of Queensland history. In1925 he became a founder and the President of the (Royal) Historical Society of Queensland as well as the editor of the Society’s journal.

See William Cumbrae-Stewart on Scatterplot Matrix.

Reference

Harrison Bryan, 'Cumbrae-Stewart, Francis William Sutton (1865–1938)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/cumbrae-stewart-francis-william-sutton-5841/text9925, published in hardcopy 1981, accessed online 19 September 2014.

William Cumbrae-Stewart (1865–1938)

Professor of Law and Queensland Historian