Griffith, Sir Samuel Walker (1845-1920), was premier of Queensland, Australia, twice between 1883 and 1893. He was also the first chief justice of the High Court of Australia, serving from 1903 to 1918. As premier, he passed an act forbidding the recruitment of people of the South Pacific islands as laborers for sugar plantations.
Griffith was born in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, on June 21, 1845. He went to Australia in 1854. In 1871, he entered the Queensland parliament.
Griffith believed that the self-governing colonies of Australia should become states in a federation united by a central administration. In 1883, he opened the debate for a federal council and drafted bills for its constitution. The council was a legislative body and lacked executive powers.
In 1891, Griffith supervised a private committee that drafted a constitution bill for a federated Australia. As Queensland’s chief justice, Griffith could not take any open part in the conference at Adelaide that debated the bill in 1897. But he swayed British politicians to favor federation. He died in Brisbane on Aug. 9, 1920.
See also Federation of Australia .
