Thomas John Mellis Napier

Thomas John Mellis Napier was born on 24 October 1882 in Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland. [1]  His father, medical practitioner Alexander Disney Leith Napier, emigrated to South Australia with his elder children in 1896.[2]  Two years later, after completion of his education at the City of London School, Thomas and his mother, Jessie (née Mellis), joined the rest of the family in South Australia.[3]

In 1902 he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Adelaide.[4] and in 1959 he was admitted ad eundum gradum to the degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D.),[5] having already received an honorary LL.D. from the University of Melbourne.[6]

Thomas was appointed Lecturer in Constitutional Law at the University of Adelaide in 1917 and Lecturer in Evidence and Procedure in 1920.[7]

Admitted to the Bar in October 1903, Thomas would go on to forge a distinguished career.[8]  He took silk in 1922, became Vice-President of the Law Society in 1923, was appointed to the Supreme Court bench in 1924 and became Chief Justice of South Australia in February 1942.[9]  When he retired on 28 February 1967, he had been a judge for forty-three years and Chief Justice for twenty-five of those.[10] 

Thomas’ service to the community was significant.  In November 1935, he chaired a Royal Commission into Australia’s monetary and banking systems, investigating their possible responsibility for the Depression.[11]  He and the commissioners made thirty recommendations, including the maintenance of a strong central bank to regulate credit; the appointment of an independent governor of a restructured Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and selection of its board-members for their 'capacity and diversity of experience.[12]  Those recommendations would form the basis of the regulatory system enacted by Federal treasurers between 1939 and 1959.[13] 

On 1 February 1948, Thomas was appointed Chancellor of the University of Adelaide.[14]  He was re-elected for a further term in 1953 and again in 1958, before resigning on 30 September 1961.[15]  For his service to the University, the Napier Building was named after him in 1961.[16]

Also appointed Lieutenant-Governor of South Australia from 1942 to 1973, Thomas administered the government on 179 occasions, totaling nine and half years and longer than any other Governor’s term.[17]

Thomas’ contributions were wide and varied. He was Grand Master of the Freemasons of South Australia from 1928 to 1930 and from 1935 to 1939; President of the Adelaide Club from 1952 to 1955; President of the St John Ambulance Association from 1942, and President of its Council from 1950 to 1976.[18]  He was also Patron of the National Trust of South Australia and State President of the English Speaking Union.[19]

Thomas John Mellis Napier was knighted in 1943 and elevated to Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (KCMG) in 1945.[20]

He passed away on 22 March 1976, aged 93, and was given a state funeral.[21]

Footnotes:

1. Emerson, J 2006, ‘Sir Mellis Napier (1942-1967): The Playford era’, in First among equals: Chief Justices of South Australia since Federation, University of Adelaide Barr Smith Press, Adelaide, p. 113.

2. Howell, P. A. 2000, ‘Napier, Sir Thomas John Mellis (1882 – 1976)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 15, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, viewed online 17 January 2023, <https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/napier-sir-thomas-john-mellis-11220>.

3. Emerson, J 2006, ‘Sir Mellis Napier (1942-1967): The Playford era’, in First among equals: Chief Justices of South Australia since Federation, University of Adelaide Barr Smith Press, Adelaide, p. 113.

4. Calendar of the University of Adelaide 1903, ‘List of past and present graduates’, W.K. Thomas & Co, Adelaide, p.33.

5. Calendar of the University of Adelaide 1960, ‘List of past and present graduates’, The Griffin Press, Adelaide, p. 127.

6. Adelaide law review 1967-1970, ‘Sir Mellis Napier: Chief Justice 1942-1967’, vol. 3, p. 4.

7. Napier, Sir Thomas John Mellis. [Staff card]. University of Adelaide, University Archives, Series 587, Register of employees, alphabetical by surname c1885 to 1985.

8. Adelaide law review 1967-1970, ‘Sir Mellis Napier: Chief Justice 1942-1967’, vol. 3, p. 2.

9. Australian law journal 1976, ‘Obituary: Sir Mellis Napier, K.C.M.G.’, vol. 5, p. 375.

10. Emerson, J 2006, ‘Sir Mellis Napier (1942-1967): The Playford era’, in First among equals: Chief Justices of South Australia since Federation, University of Adelaide Barr Smith Press, Adelaide, p. 155.

11. Emerson, J 2006, ‘Sir Mellis Napier (1942-1967): The Playford era’, in First among equals: Chief Justices of South Australia since Federation, University of Adelaide Barr Smith Press, Adelaide, p. 133.

12. Emerson, J 2006, ‘Sir Mellis Napier (1942-1967): The Playford era’, in First among equals: Chief Justices of South Australia since Federation, University of Adelaide Barr Smith Press, Adelaide, p. 133.

13. Howell, P. A. 2000, ‘Napier, Sir Thomas John Mellis (1882 – 1976)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 15, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, viewed online 17 January 2023, <https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/napier-sir-thomas-john-mellis-11220>.

14. Napier, Sir Thomas John Mellis. [Staff card]. University of Adelaide, University Archives, Series 587, Register of employees, alphabetical by surname c1885 to 1985.

15. Napier, Sir Thomas John Mellis. [Staff card]. University of Adelaide, University Archives, Series 587, Register of employees, alphabetical by surname c1885 to 1985.

16. Emerson, J 2006, ‘Sir Mellis Napier (1942-1967): The Playford era’, in First among equals: Chief Justices of South Australia since Federation, University of Adelaide Barr Smith Press, Adelaide, p. 157.

17. Emerson, J 2006, ‘Sir Mellis Napier (1942-1967): The Playford era’, in First among equals: Chief Justices of South Australia since Federation, University of Adelaide Barr Smith Press, Adelaide, p. 155.

18. Emerson, J 2006, ‘Sir Mellis Napier (1942-1967): The Playford era’, in First among equals: Chief Justices of South Australia since Federation, University of Adelaide Barr Smith Press, Adelaide, p. 155-156.

19. Howell, P. A. 2000, ‘Napier, Sir Thomas John Mellis (1882 – 1976)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 15, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, viewed online 17 January 2023, <https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/napier-sir-thomas-john-mellis-11220>.

20. Emerson, J 2006, ‘Sir Mellis Napier (1942-1967): The Playford era’, in First among equals: Chief Justices of South Australia since Federation, University of Adelaide Barr Smith Press, Adelaide, p. 135-136.

21. Emerson, J 2006, ‘Sir Mellis Napier (1942-1967): The Playford era’, in First among equals: Chief Justices of South Australia since Federation, University of Adelaide Barr Smith Press, Adelaide, p. 157.

Image:

Burnell Studio, Unley, c. 1942, Sir Thomas John Mellis Napier. Image from State Library of South Australia, Portrait Collection, Item B 11109.