Alfred Stephen

Van Diemen's Land As a young man he entered the legal fraternity and through his powerful family connections, he was soon appointed to a prominent colonial judicial role. On 24 January 1825 Stephen arrived in Hobart, Van Diemen's Land, and was made Solicitor-General and crown solicitor under Governor George Arthur. Stephen was only 22 years old at the time and was described by his cousin as "not profound in his own profession as a lawyer".

At a meeting of 400 of Hobart's most notable inhabitants discussing the establishment of a town guard on 22 September 1830, once discussion had turned to the broader question of the object of the operation, Stephens was reported as saying "If you cannot [capture them] … I say boldly and broadly, exterminate!"

New South Wales In 1839 he moved to New South Wales and became a Supreme Court judge. In addition to this, Sir Stephen found that Captain Palmer had illegally seized Daphne and ordered him to pay reparations to Daggett and Pritchard. No evidence or statements were taken from the Islanders. This decision, which overrode the obvious humanitarian actions of a senior officer of the Royal Navy, gave further legitimacy to the blackbirding trade out of Queensland and allowed it to flourish.

Family

Alfred's brother, George Milner Stephen (1812–1894), was a barrister with a significant political career in South Australia and Victoria. Another brother, John Stephen, (died 1854) was the earliest created alderman for the City of Melbourne. Alfred's son Septimus Stephen was a solicitor, NSW politician and in 1870 a co-founder of the Wallaroo Football Club in Sydney, the NSW colony's first rugby union club. Alfred arranged the new club access to the publicly restricted Inner Domain (part of Government House grounds) as a training venue.