justice molesworth photo:
Anon (1867) Judge Molesworth [picture].
Batchelder & Co., photographer. [ca. 1867]
https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/4303207
see golden age.
description of him.
description of courts around 1870s
description of supreme court and legal system in 1871 victoria:
No title (1871, May 9). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 – 1954), p. 2. Retrieved January 13, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article244803490
TWENTY PER CENT UPON CORKS. (1871, August 22). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 6. Retrieved January 13, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5853734
what would he have been wearing as ‘judicial attire’ ‘court robes’ in 1874:
The Habit of a Judge: A History of Court Dress in England & Wales…
Yazdani, Daniel
Yazdani, Daniel. The Habit of a Judge: A History of Court Dress in England & Wales, and Australia. xvii, 303 pp. 322 color illustrations. Clark, New Jersey: Talbot Publishing (an imprint of The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd.), 2019. ISBN-13: 9781616195854. ISBN-10: 1616195851. Hardcover. New. $95. * Until The Habit of a Judge, there has never been a book that offers a comprehensive history of Judges’ robes and court attire in England and Wales, and its adoption in Australian courts since colonisation. Richly illustrated with hundreds of colour images dating from the 12th century to the present, The Habit of a Judge invitingly portrays the fascinating world of judicial and legal dress. “This astonishing collection of images from rare sources presents the definitive history of court attire in common law countries. Accompanied by an erudite commentary, the spectacular colored plates are not only a delight to peruse, but also a unique reference that shows how fashion and symbolism have inspired respect for the judicial process.” –Thomas Lund, author, The Creation of the Common Law. “British cartoonists still portray judges sitting in court wearing full-bottomed wigs. In fact, those wigs are worn only on ceremonial occasions. And even the shorter `bench wig’ worn with traditional robes has now largely been discarded in favor of a bareheaded look with a simple zippered black shift worn over jeans and T-shirt–or nothing at all. With the aid of over 300 illustrations, Daniel Yazdani painstakingly guides the reader through seven centuries of changing judicial and legal fashions.” –Dr. Michael Arnheim, St John’s College. “Judicial costume, just as courthouse and courtroom architecture, symbolizes the foundations of a legal system, the position of a judge in the judicial hierarchy and vis-a-vis the general public. This volume superbly documents the English tradition of judicial costume and its impact in the antipodes, including jurisdictional variations at regional and local levels. Beautifully illustrated, thoroughly researched, this is a welcome addition to a slim literature on the subject and a significant contribution to comparative Anglo-American legal history.” –William E. Butler, Penn State University. Daniel Yazdani is a lawyer in Western Aus.
see further:
The World in Miniature: England, Scotland and Ireland, published by Ackermann in 1827.
The original artist for the illustration was William Henry Pyne
INNOCENT DIVERSIONS: AUSTRALIAN LEGAL FASHION
An exhibition in the
Sir Harry Gibbs Legal
Heritage Centre
SEPTEMBER 2014
Supreme Court Library Queensland
pdf online: https://media.sclqld.org.au/documents/lectures-and-exhibitions/2014/innocent-diversions-exhibition-catalogue.pdf
Judges are men with shaven faces and short
legs. In ordinary life they wear striped trousers,
black vests, and tall hats. They drive in carriages,
and lean back, and poke their hats over their
eyes, and turn their heads slowly from side to
side. This makes them look like waxworks. A
man once told me that the difference between
judges and waxworks is, that judges can bite
and waxworks can’t. When judges aren’t in
ordinary life, they are either in court or in bed.
As no one ever saw a judge in bed, there is no
use in saying anything more about that part of
their lives. When they are in court they wear
large wigs, and white neckties like the capstrings of a monthly nurse, long sleeves, and
long black or red gowns. A man once told me
that the reason why judges wear all these things
is to hide as much of themselves as possible, for
the less we see of judges the better.
SOURCE “ON JUDGES.” The Goulburn Herald and Chroni – cle (NSW : 1864 – 1881) 27 Feb 1875: 7. Web. 2 Oct 2014 .
The 19th Century – Black Gowns and the Detachable Collar
The 1800’s saw a number of notable developments to court clothing. Full bottomed wigs had already fallen out of fashion by this point though smaller wigs such as bob-wigs with short tails were still used in civil trials.
Black gowns were already in the height of their popularity, having become a staple as a symbol of mourning after the death of Charles II. New courts appearing in the century such as the Court of Appeal adopted the plain black gown as the Chancery judges in the court had become accustomed to this particular fashion.
One of the most significant developments of the century though involved the invention of the detachable collar, still worn by barristers in court today for the convenience of it. The idea is said to have been sparked by Hannah Montague in 1827 who is alleged to have cut off her husband’s collars to wash them before sewing them back on.
The stiffness of this style of collar is well suited to the stature and formality of a judge. The Reverend Ebenazar Brown took this idea and ran with it, triggering the mass manufacture of the detachable collar, kickstarting a whole new fashion trend and shaping a not insignificant part of the future of judge attire.
source: The Evolution of Judge Attire: From Tradition to Modernity by Dominic Chandler 19th February 2024, published by Evess Group
https://journal.evess.co/judge-attire-evolution/
judges wig:
The wig is essentially unsuited to this climate.
Women, with all their perversity in the matter
of costume, are lessening and simplifying
their capital adornments, and the only fear
is lest in some sudden whim they should
adopt the Stockade clip. They recognize the
desirableness of keeping the head cool. We are
credibly informed that the fair sex discarded
the bonnet de nuit twenty years ago, and
we know from personal observation that it
is a quarter of a century since infants while
indoors were annoyed with anything in the
shape of a cap. This question is not altogether
unimportant. Though a wig is emphatically
a trifle, it must be borne in mind that trifles
often work great results either suddenly or
gradually. A mind so constituted as to be able
to rejoice in a wig is liable to be seriously and
perhaps unhappily influenced by it. Is not
the sense of self-importance with which this
appendage will impress the weaker brethren of
the law altogether undesirable? Can we expect
moderate charges from a man who wears a
wig? Will there not be a desire to revenge upon
the community the discomfort which such
a head covering occasions? This feeling will
first bear fruit in the burning heat of summer,
when leaders of the bar and promising young
advocates are literally earning their bread by
the sweat of their brows; but the results will
continue through all the year, for in such a case
revenge must grow sweeter by indulgence.
-“BARRISTERS’ WIGS.” South Australian Chronicle and Weekly Mail (Adelaide, SA : 1868 – 1881) 17 Mar 1877: 4. Web. 3 Oct 2014 .
A Brief History of Court Attire
by Murray B Bliok, 2006, 64(1 Advocate (Vancouver) 65
this is for canada specifically. this article behind journal paywalls
FURTHER READING:
Judging for the people : a social history of the Supreme Court in Victoria 1841-2016 / edited by Simon Smith
However only half the book or less covers 1841-1900
The History of the Criminal Justice System in Victoria
An authoritative, comprehensive account of Victoria’s justice system, starting with a tour of the historic justice precinct which is located on the corner of La Trobe Street and Russell Street, Melbourne. The author takes us back to the earliest days of Victoria’s settlement and introduces the politicians, police, magistrates, and even the criminals who played their parts in Melbourne and Victoria’s development. We are shown how the prison hulks developed into stockades on land, and uncover the philosophy behind the construction of the prisons –many no longer occupied – and the building of courts which were built for conducting trials, both civil and criminal.
The book is, in many ways, an insight into an aspect of Victoria’s social history about which little has been written elsewhere. It is a valuable addition to the justice bibliography and even exposes a mystery or two. All of the proceeds of this book after costs will be donated to Victoria Police Legacy, which looks after families of deceased police officers who have died in the course of their duties.
About the author: Colin Rimington
Hybrid PublishersAn independent Australian publisher
R McQueen, ‘Of Wigs and Gowns: A Short History
of Legal and Judicial Dress in Australia’ (1999)
16(1) Law in Context 31, 42.
burrows & co 