Manning, Sir William Montagu, 1811 – 1895

Sir William Montagu Manning (1811-1895), barrister, judge and parliamentarian, was born at Devon, England, son of John Edye Manning, the elder (1783-1870) and his wife Matilda. Manning was educated in England and was admitted to the English Bar in 1832.

In 1837 Manning and his wife Emily Anne, sister of Judge Edward Wise (1818-1865), decided to join his family who had arrived at Sydney in 1829. Manning was appointed a magistrate, a commissioner of the Court of Requests, and an acting judge on the Supreme Court bench. After the death of his first wife Manning married Eliza Anne, daughter of Rev. W. Sowerby. He acquired large pastoral land holdings in the Lachlan, Monaro and Bega districts.

In 1851 Manning was appointed to the old Legislative Council and was Solicitor-General from 1844 to 1848 and 1849 to 1856. He was elected a member of the NSW Legislative Assembly for the seat of Cumberland (1856-1857) in the first parliament after responsible government in 1956 and was appointed Attorney-General on three separate occasions (1856-1857, 1860, 1868-1870). Manning resigned from parliament in 1857 due to ill health and returned to London. In 1859 he returned to Sydney and in 1861 was appointed to the NSW Legislative Council (1861-1876, 1887-1895). Manning became a puisne judge of the Supreme Court in 1876 but resigned in 1887 and he was re-appointed to the Legislative Assembly.

In 1878 Manning was elected chancellor of the University of Sydney and held the position until his death in 1895. He was responsible for an expansion of the University, and in 1881 for the admission of women to all university privileges 'on an equal footing to men'. Having been knighted in 1859 he was elevated to K.C.M.G. in 1892. Manning died at 'Wallaroy', Edgecliff Road in February 1895. [ref:ADB 5]