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Son of John Panton of the
Hudson's Bay Company service, was born at Knockiemil, Aberdeenshire,
Scotland, on 2 June 1831. He had a high school education at Aberdeen and
afterwards studied geology and other subjects at the university of
Edinburgh, but left without taking a degree. He arrived in Australia in
1851 intending to go on the land, but in May 1852 was appointed a
commissioner of crown lands and assistant commissioner of goldfields at
Bendigo, Victoria. William Howitt, in his Land, Labour and Gold; or Two
Years in Victoria, mentions Panton and suggests that he was not a
success in this position (vol. I, pp. 402-3), but when trouble arose
between the Chinese and other diggers Panton prevented a collision, and
subsequently was selected to advise on a scheme of management of the
Chinese. The royal commission appointed after the Eureka rebellion also
commended Panton for his work in the Bendigo district. From 1854 to 1858
he was resident commissioner of the Bendigo and Sandhurst goldfields, and
he then paid a visit to Europe. After his return he did some exploring in
the Kimberley district in Western Australia, and in 1862 rejoined the
Victorian public service as warden and police magistrate for the Wood's
Point, Heidelberg and Yarra districts. He then became police magistrate
for Geelong and the Western District, and in 1874 was appointed to
Melbourne. For 33 years he conducted the Melbourne police court with great
ability and became a Victorian institution. He had had no training as a
lawyer, but he understood human nature. It has been said of him that the
most fluent and resourceful liar was never quite sure of himself when
facing the steely eyes and unyielding features of the magistrate. It was
equally useless for any lawyer to try to throw dust in the magistrate's
eyes. There would be a sharp reminder from the bench that it was useless
to pursue that line of argument any further. The very offenders brought
before him developed a kind of respect for him not far removed from pride,
for here they realized was a man who knew his work. Everyone might not
agree that his method of conducting cases was an ideal one, or that his
decisions were always correct, but his integrity and insight were
universally recognized and prevented complaint. He retired at the age of
76 on 30 June 1907, afterwards paid a visit to the Solomon Islands and
Papua, and lived in retirement at Melbourne until his death on 25 October
1913. He was almost blind for the last three years of his life, but
retained his other faculties and his interests to the end. He married in
1869 Eleanor, daughter of Colonel John Fulton, who predeceased him. He was
survived by two daughters. He was created C.M.G. in 1895.
Panton was an upright man
of over six feet, with a good presence. His early study of geology led to
his being associated in 1856 with McCoy (q.v.) and Selwyn (q.v.) on a
royal commission appointed to examine the geological and mineral
characteristics of Victoria. He was a good amateur artist, was connected
with the foundation of the Victorian academy of arts in 1870, and in 1888,
when this society became the Victorian Artists' Society, Panton was
elected president. He was also president of the Victorian branch of the
Royal Geographical Society at the time of his death. He was much
interested in music, and was a good raconteur. |
