Review of Tim Castle and Bruce Kercher (eds), 'Dowling's Select Cases 1828 to 1844', The Francis Forbes Society for Australian Legal History, Sydney, 2005, Hbk, ISBN 0 9751103 3 0, lxxxii + 1,035 pp, $140.00

Abstract

One might imagine Bruce Kercher wearing a safari suit and pith helmet, and archaeologist's brushes and trowel in hand, moving from site to site in search of new artefacts and treasures to unearth. Then again, rather more rustic clobber might more easily be imagined. Whatever the garb, Kercher's central role (since 1996 and continuing) in producing the Macquarie Law web-site of colonial case law (at www.law.mq.edu.au/html/ccl_colonial.htm) has, for others, the same ramifications as a major archaeological dig.Joined on his latest dig by Tim Castle, a Sydney barrister and research fellow, the pair have turned their tools and attention to the notebooks of James Dowling, the second Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Dowling produced 268 notebooks during his 16 years on the bench from 1828 to 1844. From this, Dowling had taken the further step of distilling nine notebooks of 'select cases' until his object of completion and publication was left unrealised by his untimely death. Apart from the odd foray by lone historians into these sources, the notebooks were led to gather dust in the New South Wales archives for 160 years. Now, brought to light by this volume, are 465 of Dowling's 'select cases'.