Edmund Barton - Early Life

Early Life

He was born in Glebe, New South Wales, the ninth child of English parents William Barton, a stockbroker, and Mary Louise Barton. He was educated at Fort Street High School and Sydney Grammar School, where he was twice dux and School Captain and met his life-long friend and later fellow Justice of the High Court of Australia, Richard O'Connor. He graduated with first class honours and the University Medal in classics from the University of Sydney, where he also demonstrated considerable skill at batting (but not in fielding) in cricket. He was a founder and active member of the Sydney Rowing Club. Barton became a barrister in 1871. On a cricket trip to Newcastle in 1870, he met Jane Mason Ross, whom he married in 1877.

In 1879, Barton umpired a cricket game at Sydney Cricket Ground between New South Wales and an English touring side captained by Lord Harris. After a controversial decision by Barton's colleague George Coulthard against the home side, the crowd spilled onto the pitch and assaulted some of the English players, leading to international cricket's first riot. The publicity that attended the young Barton's presence of mind in defusing that situation reputedly helped him take his first step towards becoming Australia's first prime minister, winning a state lower house seat later that year.