Torrens, Sir Robert Richard

Sir Robert Richard Torrens (1814-1884) was born in Cork, Ireland, and emigrated to South Australia in 1840, when he was offered the position of collector of customs. He then became Colonial Treasurer and Registrar-General. In 1851-57 he was nominated as member of the Legislative Council and he became a member of the Executive Council in 1855.

Sir Robert won the seat of Adelaide in the House of Assembly elections of 1857 and became Treasurer, then Premier for a short period, during which time his lands title bill passed through both Houses of Parliament. Sir Robert was keen to improve the lands title registration system in South Australia, as the process was so inefficient that it often led to long delays and legal proceedings.

Under the Torrens system land titles were no longer passed to a new owner by the transferring of deeds, but by the registration of dealings on a public register. Once registered, the title of a purchaser remained valid unless he was guilty of fraud. This put an end to disputes about titles and meant that the history of ownership could be traced back. The Torrens Title system has been adopted by many other countries and has won worldwide recognition.

In 1858 Sir Robert became the Registrar General under the Real Property Act at a salary of £1000 and helped implement the Act to become an effective, functioning system.

In 1863 he returned to England and lectured on the Torrens Title system throughout Great Britain. He was a keen advocate for the Torrens Title and its adoption in the United Kingdom. After several election defeats, he won the seat for the borough of Cambridge from 1868 to 1874. He did not receive support for the adoption of the Torrens Title system in the UK at this time, and as he was not re-elected he effectively left public life and spent most of his time at his country home in Kent.

He received the Order of St Michael and St George for his services to the Registration of Titles to Land Act and died of pneumonia in 1884, aged 70.