Alexander Macduff Baxter

Alexander Macduff Baxter (25 June 1798 – 11 March 1834) was a Scottish-Australian lawyer and politician who served as Attorney General of New South Wales between 1827 and 1831. The Governor of New South Wales, Sir Ralph Darling, considered him to be incompetent and tried to persuade the Colonial Office to dismiss him, but Baxter resigned in order to become a judge in Tasmania. In Tasmania, the Lieutenant-Governor, Sir George Arthur, managed to prevent Baxter from taking up his post. Baxter returned to England later in 1831 and died in 1834.

Early life Alexander Baxter was born at Monzievaird in Perthshire to the Reverend Colin Baxter and Jacobina Macduff in 1798. He was admitted as a barrister in London in 1819, but his career was unsuccessful and Baxter remained dependent on his father who sought help from Sir George Murray. Sir George was a Member of Parliament for Perthshire who would become Colonial Secretary in 1828. As a result, in 1826, Baxter was nominated as Attorney General of New South Wales. Baxter fell out with his wife over his lavish spending, which led to his bankruptcy. He became an alcoholic and attacked her violently after she gave birth to twin daughters. When she had the daughters baptised in the Roman Catholic faith, he left her, taking his young son with him, and Governor Darling helped Maria to return to England. As a widow, in 1836, she was still trying to recover jewels and other property that had been seized in Sydney to repay her husband's debts.