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Sir Redmond Barry, Founder

Early life in Ireland Sir Redmond Barry, born on the 7th of June 1813, was the founder of the State Library of Victoria. Born in Bally Clough, Country Cork, Ireland, Redmond Barry was the third son of Major Henry Green Barry and Phoebe Née Drought. At the young age of 12 he was sent to Bexley Kent, a boarding school in England that specialised in preparing boys for the army. He then returned to Ireland in 1829. In 1837 he graduated from Trinity College, Dublin, he searched for many jobs and eventually he became a judge at the Irish Bar (Courts of the Republic of Ireland). He read wisely, attended many lectures, listened to debates, and took up extreme exercises including both riding and swimming. He was very active both mentally and physically. He enjoyed a very active social life, because of his kind, friendly acts he became a good friend of Isaac Butt (he was a barrister and a member of the parliament). Even though he had a profession, he did not receive a large income. In May 1838 his father passed away, he then had no significant income and emigration became necessary.

Arriving in Sydney On the 27th of April 1839, after a small trip around the continent - he travelled from London to Sydney on the ship the Calcutta. On board he was restricted to his cabin due to a love affair with a married female passenger. This became common knowledge and earned him a bad reputation in his social circles. Arriving at Sydney on the 1st of September he failed to find a proper job because of his reputation. He knew it was pointless staying in Sydney therefore he set sail to Melbourne.

Arriving in Melbourne On the 30th of October he got on the ship the Parkfield and landed in Melbourne on the 13th of November. Taking a room in Mrs Hoosan’s cottage he started his hunt for a job. He needed a job badly, the few pounds he brought from Ireland was running out. Since there wasn’t a judge in the Supreme Court he was appointed the judge there. Barry’s salary was $250 and a small portion of the court fees. Court opened for only the first few days of the month. He wanted a more important job, he applied for many but wasn’t successful. He used his time wisely; here in Melbourne he took part in many social activities just like he did in Ireland. He became the president of the Melbourne Club; he was active in the hospitals, the philosophical Institute, the Royal Society of Victoria and the polo club.

Barry`s Creations With his hard earned money he founded the Melbourne Mechanics’ Institute, it is now known as the Athenaeum. He was a celebrity but the public hadn’t yet seen what he could create. In 1853 he established the University of Melbourne; he was the first chancellor of it. He stayed the chancellor until he died. The university attracted many high qualified men as its professors. In 1856 he opened the State Library of Victoria; there was not a single fiction book in the library until he died. Each part of the library was opened at different times. Before he built the State Library he invited the public to come to his house in the evenings to read his collection of books. He had a variety of non-fiction collections as he thought that fiction was a waste of time and useless (which it isn’t). Both these buildings are fantastic creations but the library, in my opinion, is the best. It has one of the world’s best collections of books,paintings and exhibitions.

Barry`s collection

· Natural History · Bibles · Dictionaries · Architecture · Fine Arts · British-Classics · Travels/Voyages · Classics · Political Economy · Speeches · Coins/Medals · Metaphysics/Logic · Essays · Botany · Commentaries · Atlases/Maps/Globes · Biographies · History · Sciences · Chronicles · French Works

Barry and his harshness In his courtroom most people thought Barry`s sentences were harsh but he didn’t care. He thought Melbourne was a place where the law was not yet respected. When he sentenced Henry Garrett to 10 years of labour on the roads for four robberies, this did nothing to change people's opinions of his sentencing. He said “The sentences of the court may be seen as harsh but those sentences will be mitigated as the country becomes more settled and composed.” He was on the bench for the trials for the Eureka rebels. He’s most famous trial was of Ned Kelly`s in 1880 (11-11-1880), he sentenced Kelly to death.1857 Sir William Á Beckett resigned from the bench and Barry was expected to be his succeed him but that position was also wanted by Sir William Stawell. After a series of political manoeuvrings (which was not the tradition) Sir William Stawell got the position. Evidence shows that the relationship between the two men was not that friendly after this incident.

Barry`s Family In 1846 Barry met Mrs Louisa Barrow, they never married but their relationship stayed strong. They had four children; all four were named by him. Nicholas, born in 1847 was Barry`s first son. In 1859 his only daughter was born, he named her Eliza. George born in 1856 was Barry`s second son. Fred, born in 1859 was Barry`s third and last son. The family were seen together at many public occasions. Barry and his family were criticised by many people especially by the bishop Charles Perry. Barry lived in the Carlton Gardens near the Exhibition Centre. For Mrs Barrow he built a house at 82 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. Other than short trips to other colonies and New Zealand he made two visits abroad. One was to Europe and the other was to England and America. On the 23rd of November 1880 Sir Redmond Barry died, only twelve days after he sentenced Ned Kelly to death.

By Sherin

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