Crown Solicitor of South Australia
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The Crown Solicitor of South Australia provides legal services to South Australian government Ministers, agencies and departments.
| Crown Solicitor of South Australia | |
|---|---|
| |
Incumbent since January 2025Lucinda Byers | |
| Attorney-General's Department | |
| Inaugural holder | Charles Mann |
| Formation | 1837 |
| Website | Attorney-General's Department (South Australia) |
In the early days of the colony the titles of Advocate-General, Crown Solicitor and Public Prosecutor were bestowed together. That changed in 1850 due to the ill-health of then Advocate-General, William Smillie. As a consequence of Smillie's ill-health, the position of Crown Solicitor was given to Charles Mann. Mann briefly held the title of Acting Advocate-General before resigning that position in favour of Richard Hanson. Hanson became South Australia's last Advocate-General and the provinces first Attorney-General in the inaugural Parliament in 1857.
Since 1850, the position of Crown Solicitor has been a public sector employee. The current Crown Solicitor of South Australia, as of January 2025, is Lucinda Byers.[1]
List of Crown Solicitors of South Australia (1851 to 2025)
| Crown Solicitor | Time in office |
|---|---|
| Charles Mann | 1837–38 |
| George Milner Stephen | 1838 |
| Robert Bernard | 1838–40 |
| William Smillie | 1840–52 |
| William Bartley (Acting) | 1849–50 |
| Charles Mann | 1850–56[2] |
| William Alfred Wearing QC[3] | 1856–67[4] |
| William Bakewell | 1867–70[5] |
| Richard Bullock Andrews QC[6][7] | 1870–81[8] |
| Charles Mann QC | 1881–89[9] |
| James Martin Stuart | 1889–1905[10] |
| Charles James Dashwood KC[11][12] | 1905–16[13] |
| Frederick William Richards KC[14] | 1916–27[15] |
| Albert James Hannan[16][17] | 1927–52[18] |
| Reginald Roderick St Clair Chamberlain KC[19][20] | 1952–59[21] |
| Joseph Reginald Kearnan QC[22] | 1959–68 |
| William Andrew Noye Wells QC[23] | 1968–69 |
| Ralph Meyrick Hague | 1969–70 |
| Leslie Kenneth Gordon | 1970–76 |
| Graham Clifton Prior QC[24] | 1976–84 |
| Catherine Margaret Branson QC | 1984–89 |
| Bradley Maxwell Selway QC[25] | 1989–96 |
| Michael Walter QC[26] | 1996–2004 |
| Simon Stretton SC[27] | 2004–10 |
| Gregory Parker | 2010–13 |
| Michael Evans QC[28] | 2015–16 |
| Judith Hughes | 2016–17[29] |
| Michael Wait SC[30] | 2018–20 |
| Laura Stein | 2020–21[31] |
| Ingrid Norman | 2021–2024 |
| Lucinda Byers | 2025– |