Michael Henry Gallwey KCMG, KC (1826 - 1912)

Born 24 Oct 1826 in Raphoe, Millstreet, Co Cork, Ireland

Ancestors

Husband of Frances Cadwallader (Erskine) Gallwey — married 23 Aug 1861 in Pietermaritzburg, Natal

Descendants

Died 25 Jul 1912 at age 85 in Petermaritzburg, Natal, South Africa

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Biography

He was educated at Trinity College Dublin (entered 11th October 1844, BA 1848). In January 1849 (Hilary term) he became a student in King’s Inn, Dublin and trained at the Bar for six terms (to May 1850). He proceeded to London and was admitted to Lincoln’s Inn on 9 November 1850 where he kept six terms before departing on 31st January 1852. In May 1853 he was called to the Bar at King’s Inn, Dublin in the Trinity term (after Easter). He practiced at the Bar in Dublin, and also on circuit in Limerick and Cork, before being appointed as the first Attorney General of Natal on 8th August 1857, was in post from December 1857 and was first President of the newly-founded Natal Law Society. When his uncle Michael (Gallwey-99) died in Mar 1866 he returned to Ireland for a year of long leave to get the family's affairs in order; during this period his son William John (Gallwey-1) was born who returned to South Africa as an infant. Sir Michael chaired the Boundary Commission that met at Rorke’s Drift on March 7th 1878 to settle the dispute between Zulus and Boers (ref 3 & 4). Its disputed findings led to the Zulu War of 1879 and the Battle of Isandhlwana. In January 1880 he was offered the post of Attorney-General of the Transvaal but he refused. On the death of Sir John Brand in 1888 he was invited to accept nomination for the Presidency of the Orange Free State but declined (ref 1). Also in 1888 he was knighted, an honour said in the Natal Witness newspaper obituary to have been delayed by ten years due to not reaching the "right" verdict on the Boundary Commission. He was Chief Justice from 1890 until he retired in 1901. For many years he had a ‘gouty’ affliction and travelled to the Supreme Court in a private rickshaw. After his retirement MHG lived in a house at 327 Church Street below Commercial Road. There he spent much of his day seated on the verandah in an invalid chair (due to his gout) with a rug over his knees and wearing a black silk top hat, wing collar, black tie, and frock coat. He conversed freely with passers-by and “the old gentleman in the top hat” became something of a local institution (ref 10). The street next to the court house is called Gallwey Lane (ref 6) and a road opposite the university is called Gallway (sic) Road.^[1] He is buried in the Albert Luthuli Street Cemetery in Pietermaritzburg close to his son William and both wives of the latter. He owned 29+ acres at Dundeady (Ref 11 & Will) and apparenhtly 234+ acres in 1976

Birth Note: There appears to be no individual baptism record for him in Ardfield, just an entry in the consolidated list mentioned in Note 3 of Gallwey-44. This may be because he may have been born in Raphoe, Millstreet where his mother was from, and his eldest sister was born there. The dob given here was taken from that consolidated list. Rather go with Ref 7 as more reliable, and the same as the baptismal register.

Sources

1. HC Lugg, Historic Natal and Zululand, Shuter & Shooter, 1949.

2. Barbara I Buchanan, Natal Memories, Shuter & Shooter, 1941, pp. 216-218.

3. Frank Welsh, A History of South Africa, Harper Collins, 2000.

4. Donald R Morris, The Washing of the Spears, Johnathon Cape, 1965.

5. Peter Spiller, MA Thesis on the Natal Supreme Court proceedings, Faculty of Law, University of Natal, Durban.

6. Natal Witness, Friday 2 March 1973, City Streets No 24, Gallwey lane

7. Birth: Rosemary Ffolliott press clippings: Birth Notice in The Constitution of Sat 28th Oct 1826 "at her father's house Rathroe on Tuesday last, the lady of Henry Gallwey Esq of a son and heir", hence b. 24 Oct 1826.

8. Birth date: www.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/ for Ardfield parish gives baptism on 24 Oct 1826 AND: Register of Rathbarry & Ardfield Parish composite list for children of Henry Gallwey and Margaret McCarthy

9. Death: Natal Mercury of 26 July 1912, Death of Sir Michael Gallwey has "Sir Michael Gallwey died last night" i.e. dod 25 Jul 1912 but some confusion in the heading of the article; 25th is the dod always quoted.

10. Natal Witness, 17 Nov 1956, The old gentleman in the top hat.

1. ↑ Entered by Tim Gallwey.

11. Cork Landowners 1876, p. 124, source lost.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Tim Gallwey for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Tim and others.