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A Wise wig |
‘He wore a full-bottomed wig....’
This unique wig box belonged to the Honourable Bernhard Ringrose Wise, K.C.,B.A, a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1887 to 1900, then a member of the Council from 1900 to 1908, and Attorney General while serving in both Houses.
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Mr Wise was an Oxford-educated barrister who was called to the Sydney bar in 1883 and made Queen’s Counsel in 1898 – in those days members of parliament did not have to give up their day jobs!
And he wore a full-bottomed wig. From the 1820s onwards barristers and judges began to adopt the attire of their peers in the English courts, which included robes and full-bottomed wigs – so called due to their long panels.
And as for the beautiful wig box? ‘Ravenscroft, London’, the wig and robe maker identified on the carry case, was founded in London in 1689 and continues to trade to this day as ‘Ede and Ravenscroft’.
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That wig looks familiar...
Up until 1998, Presidents in the Legislative Council wore fullbottomed wigs. The clerks wore bob wigs – a shorter style with a plait positioned at the centre rear, made of horse hair. Wigs, robes and other regalia have been worn to ensure that the presiding officers and clerks were visibly distinct from other members and parliamentary officers. The wigs worn by the clerks denoted that, like lawyers, theirs is a learned profession.
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Image: Sir Harry Vincent Budd, NSW Parliamentary Archives (Date Unknown) |
The practice of wearing wigs ended in the Legislative Council with the election of President the Honourable Virginia Chadwick in 1998. The smaller of the two wigs on display was worn by Sir Harry Budd, President between 1966 and 1978. President Chadwick made the change stating that it would respond to a perceived disenchantment among the general public toward politicians and, in particular, some of the symbols and traditions that set them apart from ordinary people.
While clerks in the UK House of Commons continued to wear wigs until as recently as 2017, most other parliaments dispensed with the practice around the same time as NSW, with the general consensus being considerable relief that these itchy adornments were to be retired to the wig stands!
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