page_title: George Rogers Harding
section_title: Legal career in Brisbane
hierarchical_section_title: George Rogers Harding / Legal career in Brisbane
caption_attribution_description: English: The Hon. George Rogers Harding’s painting in The Banco Court, Level 2 Supreme Court Building, George St, Brisbane. Judge George Rogers Harding (3 December 1838 – 31 August 1895) was a Queensland Judge and the second owner of St. John's Wood House.
context_page_description: Judge George Rogers Harding was a Queensland judge and the founder of the Ashgrove locality St Johns Wood, in Brisbane, Australia.
context_section_description: He had become the first equity counsel in the colony upon his arrival in 1866 and built up a very large and profitable practice. By 15 July 1879, when he was only forty one years old, he was the senior Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court. He was considered a fair and conscientious man and these qualities lead to him being appointed as Acting Chief Justice in the absence of Sir Charles Lilley from 1883 to 1884. His appointment to the Bench was seen as non-political, "It is not a political appointment in any sense, and that is one fact which entitles it to public approval. Mr. Harding's legal qualifications rank high and socially his standing is unimpeachable."
  The only case to make him unpopular was the Conspiracy Trial after the 1891 shearers' strike. The strike involved around 8,000 workers and was largely limited to Queensland. The central issue of the strike was that the pastoralists believed in their right to employ any worker, whether or not they were part of a union, and the Queensland Shearers Union believed that employment of union members only, ensured better working conditions.
caption: The Hon. George Rogers Harding
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