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George Elliott Barton
(1827–1903)

Biographical

MP for Wellington City 1878–79
Provincial Council for the City of Dunedin in 1871–73
Member of the Legislative Assembly for North Melbourne in 1859–61

Barton studied for the bar, was admitted, and began his professional career in Dublin, where he had trained under a barrister of high standing. In the early 1850s, he emigrated to Victoria, practising for several years in Melbourne while also entering politics. After retiring from Parliament, he moved to Ballarat. In 1862, he went to Otago, New Zealand, and began practising in Dunedin. He was a successful advocate, admired for his remarkable concentration, but his impulsive and highly excitable temperament often brought him into conflict with bench and bar. In 1874, he contested a Dunedin seat in Parliament but was defeated. Two years later, he moved to Wellington and joined a legal practice. While conducting a case at the Supreme Court, he was committed for contempt and imprisoned in Wellington Gaol. During his imprisonment, he successfully contested the Parliamentary election for Wellington City, with his son Elliott campaigning on his behalf. After his victory, a crowd gathered outside the gaol to congratulate him, though he was not permitted to speak. Some years later, he moved to the United States, practising in San Francisco, before returning to New Zealand, where he was appointed a judge of the Native Land Court and, in 1892, a judge of the Validation Court. The following appeared in an Australian newspaper article on him:
 
'For the first time in the history of this colony, and as far as I am aware in the history of the Australian Colonies, a person confined in a cell of a prison has been returned to a seat in Parliament. Mr. George Elliott Barton, barrister, practising at Wellington, was committed to gaol a short time ago for one month for contempt of Court. Mr. Barton is a lawyer of high standing. He is an Irishman with an exceedingly ‘peppery’ disposition, and is ever imagining that the Judges of the Supreme Court have a grudge against him. The cause of his incarceration was his oft-repeated assertion that the Chief Justice showed partiality towards any counsel appearing in opposition to him (Mr. Barton).'
— South Australian Register, 19 March 1878
 
Place of birth: Dublin
Place of death: Paris

Son of James Barton and Anne Lestrange, he married Jane Campbell, †1896, her second marriage, in 1854, and had issue:
• Anne Agnes, 1855–1934, married 1881 to GE Browne
• Elliott L'Estrange (see)
• Edward (see)