Francis Burt (judge)

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = The Honourable

| name = Sir Francis Burt

| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AC|KCMG|QC|size=100%}}

| image = Sir Francis Burt.jpg

| order = 27th

| office = Governor of Western Australia

| term_start = 20 March 1990

| term_end = 31 October 1993

| monarch = Elizabeth II

| premier = Carmen Lawrence
Richard Court

| predecessor = Gordon Reid

| successor = Michael Jeffery

| order2 = 11th

| office2 = Chief Justice of Western Australia

| term_start2 = 1977

| term_end2 = 1988

| predecessor2 = Sir Lawrence Jackson

| successor2 = David Malcolm

| birth_name = Francis Theodore Page Burt

| birth_date = {{birth date|1918|6|14|df=y}}

| birth_place = Mosman Park, Western Australia

| death_date = {{death date and age|2004|9|8|1918|6|14|df=y}}

| death_place = Perth, Western Australia

| restingplace =

| nationality = Australian

| spouse =

| relations =

| children =

| residence =

| alma_mater = University of Western Australia

| occupation =

| profession =

| nickname = "Red"

| allegiance = Australia

| branch = Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Air Force

| serviceyears = 1940–1942 (RAN)
1943–1946 (RAAF)

| rank = Flight Lieutenant

| unit = {{HMAS|Leeuwin|naval base|6}}
No. 10 Squadron RAAF

| commands =

| battles = Second World War

| awards =

}}

File:Old Courthouse, Perth.jpg

Sir Francis Theodore Page Burt {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AC|KCMG|QC}} (14 June 1918 – 8 September 2004) was an Australian jurist who served as the 11th Chief Justice of Western Australia, from 1977 to 1988, and the 27th Governor of Western Australia, from 1990 to 1993.

Burt was born in Cottesloe, a suburb of Perth Western Australia, and educated at Guildford Grammar School. He studied law at the University of Western Australia, and also served in the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force during the Second World War. Burt was made a judge of the Supreme Court of Western Australia in 1969 and was promoted to Chief Justice in 1977. As Chief Justice, he served as lieutenant-governor. When the Governor of Western Australia, Gordon Reid, resigned in 1989, Burt was appointed to succeed him and served as governor until 1993.

Biography

Born in Mosman Park, Western Australia,{{cite news |title=Births |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/27480924 |access-date=14 June 2019 |work=The West Australian |date=17 June 1918 |location=Perth, WA |page=1}} Burt's great-grandfather, Sir Archibald Burt, was Chief Justice of Western Australia from 1861 to 1879, while his grandfather, Septimus Burt, was Attorney-General and Agent-General when responsible government was granted to Western Australia in December 1890. Archibald Burt had been a slaveholder in the West Indies. Burt was educated at Guildford Grammar School and later studied law at the University of Western Australia.{{cite web|url=http://www.ccentre.wa.gov.au/index.cfm?event=governorsFrancisburt|work=Constitutional Centre of Western Australia|title=Sir Francis Theodore Page Burt 1990–1993|date=July 2005}} During the Second World War he served in the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force.[http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/Veteran.aspx?serviceId=N&veteranId=1085502 BURT, FRANCIS THEODORE PAGE (RAN)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704182749/http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/Veteran.aspx?serviceId=N&veteranId=1085502 |date=4 July 2018 }} – World War II Nominal Roll. Retrieved 12 July 2012.[https://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au/veteran?id=1289151&c=WW2 BURT, FRANCIS THEODORE PAGE (RAAF)] – World War II Nominal Roll. Retrieved 13 August 2024.

After being admitted to the Bar in 1941, Burt gained his skills as a Queen's Counsel in 1959, and in 1961 founded the independent Bar in Western Australia.{{cite web|url=http://www.wabar.asn.au/|title=Western Australian Bar Association|date=March 2006}} With others, he established Bar Chambers in 1962. He was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Western Australia in 1969, a position he held until 1977 when he was promoted to Chief Justice of Western Australia. He retired in 1988.

Burt was afforded a state funeral on his death in 2004. He is buried at Karrakatta Cemetery.{{cite web|url=http://www2.mcb.wa.gov.au/NameSearch/details.php?id=KC00159087|title=Summary Of Record Information, Francis Theodore Page Burt|publisher=Metropolitan Cemeteries Board|access-date=24 October 2010|archive-date=10 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610214629/http://www2.mcb.wa.gov.au/NameSearch/details.php?id=KC00159087|url-status=dead}} The Francis Burt Chambers located in Allendale Square, Perth, and the Francis Burt Law Education Centre and Museum in Stirling Gardens are both named in his honour.