sentences:  Hilary Golder points to research that magistrates were in fact dealing with small debt claims as early 1789, one year after the commencement of the colony.Ellis Bent, the first barrister appointed as deputy judge advocate for the colony, made recommendations to Governor Lachlan Macquarie for the establishment of new civil courts to reflect the changing nature of the society from a penal colony to a trading colony.This reflected the public sentiment in New South Wales that it was time for a legally qualified judge to head a superior court in the colony, rather than a military officer who happened to have legal qualifications.