Judge Willis Collection Overview

Judge Willis Casebooks

Judge Willis Collection Overview

The twenty-six handwritten case books listed below and a small collection of loose papers (Box 55) form the archive of Judge Willis, first Supreme Court Judge of Port Phillip, 1841-43. It is owned by the Royal Historical Society of Victoria.

The Port Phillip material, which is starred with an asterisk * (see below), has been meticulously transcribed, checked and double checked, indexed, contextualised and commented upon by Paul Mullaly over a decade. It has then been digitised by the Royal Historical Society of Victoria. These documents marked by an asterisk, with associated materials are all available on this website.

Original scans of the manuscript materials are are available alongside the web based transcripts and commentaries.

The other material without an asterisk is available by appointment at the Society’s offices and open to all researchers for a small fee.

Box 55

Civil Books

  • Willis Note Book Equity Cases – June 1838
  • Willis Note Book No 1 – Notes of Civil Cases Special Juries: July 1838
  • Willis Note Book No 1 (Continued) – Notes of Civil Cases tried in Supreme Court of NSW: March – June 1838
  • Willis Note Book No 2 – Notes in Civil Cases: June, September & October 1838; February & March 1839
  • Willis Note Book No 2 – Notes of Civil Cases Special Juries: October 1838; July & October 1839
  • Willis Note Book 1839 – Civil Cases & Common Jury
  • Willis Note Book Special Jury Cases No 2 – March 1839; July 1840
  • Willis Note Book – Assessors & Common Jury: Febuary, March, June & September 1840
  • Willis Note Book Assessors & Special Jury Cases No 3: – October 1840
  • *  Melbourne Civil Cases – 1841
    Transcript & commentary (Word/.doc, 282 KB)  | Original Scans (PDF, 34 MB)

Criminal Books

  • Willis Note Book No 1 – Notes of Criminal Trials NSW: 1 February 1838
  • Willis Note Book No 2 – Notes of Criminal Trials Supreme Court of NSW: 1 May 1838
  • Willis Note Book No 3 – Notes of Criminal Trials NSW: 10 May 1838
  • Willis Note Book No 8 [Not 4] – Notes of Criminal Trials NSW: 13 August 1838
  • Willis Note Book No 5 – Criminal Sessions: 1 February 1839, NSW Notes of Criminal Trials
  • Willis Note Book No 6 – Criminal Sessions: 14 February 1839
  • Willis Note Book No 7 – Criminal Sessions: 15 May 1839
  • Willis Note Book No 8 – Criminal Sessions: 19 August 1839
  • Willis Note Book No 9 – Criminal Sessions: 11 November 1839 – May 1840
  • Willis Note Book No 10 – Criminal Sessions: May 1840 –
  • *  Willis Note Book No 11 – Criminal Cases: November 1840; No 1 Port Phillip, April 1841
    Casebook 11 transcript & commentary (website) | Original Scans (PDF, 35 MB)
  • *  Willis Note Book No 12 – Criminal Sessions: 15 September 1841
    Casebook 12 transcript & commentary (website) | Original Scans (PDF, 40 MB)
  • *  Willis Note Book No 13 – Note Book Port Phillip: 7 January 1842 –
    Casebook 13 transcript & commentary (website) | Original Scans (PDF, 40 MB)
  • *  Willis Note Book No 14 – Criminal Cases in Port Phillip: 15 August 1842 – 15 December 1842
    Casebook 14 transcript & commentary (website) | Original Scans (PDF, 37 MB)
  • *  Willis Note Book No 15 – Criminal Cases in Port Phillip: 15 May 1843 – 24 June 1843
    Casebook 15 transcript & commentary (website) | Original Scans (PDF, 10 MB)
  • Memoranda Book – March 1838

In 2014, The Judge Willis Casebooks website was developed with support from the Wilson Trust & His Honour Paul R Mullaly QC.  The website was created by Jason Odering. In 2018, the RHSV website was rebuilt and the Judge Willis Casebooks have been reconstructed with respect to the original layout and design. Judge Willis Casebooks: Terms of Use