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King Cain Solicitors have been a member of the Bathurst community in various guises for many decades.
Founding Partner Peter Cain first became involved with the firm in or around 1967 when he came to live in Bathurst having been appointed as an Assistant Clerk of Petty Sessions at the Court House in Bathurst.
The firm was known as Peacocke & Peacocke in 1967 though had been in operation for many years prior to this. The Practice was first carried out by Mr Hawker, Mr Peter Peacocke and his brother Gerald who has the impressive full name of Gerald Beresford Ponsonby Peacocke. Mr Hawker retired from the Practice which was then conducted by Peter and Gerald Peacocke for some years and then Mr Peter Peacocke went to set up a firm at Dubbo.
Mr Gerald Peacocke later became a Member of Parliament.
Mr Cain replaced Mr John King at the LocalCourt (of Petty Sessions), who at that time had been appointed the Clerk of the Court at Forbes. A short time later Mr King resigned from the Justice Department and came to work at Messrs Peacocke & Peacocke.
Mr Peacocke then moved from the Bathurst Practice to the Practice at Dubbo and Mr King purchased the whole of the business formerly conducted by Peacocke Dickens & King at Bathurst. The other members of the firm retained the business at Dubbo. The firm at Dubbo still exists.
When Mr Cain came to work with John King, they were the only Solicitors. Mr Cain became a partner in 1973 the firms name was changed from JH King to JH King & Cain.
In 1974 Mr David Richardson who was a partner in a Practice in Sydney came to work as an employed Solicitor. He later became a partner. When Mr Richardson became a partner the firm became known as JH King Cain & Richardson.
Some time after, Mr Kelvin Connelly came to work as a Solicitor and subsequently became a partner as did Mr Warwick Gilbertson who had previously been employed as a Solicitor in Tasmania and in another Bathurst firm.
There were various changes to the partnership and the firms name until in 1993 Paul Carver of Paul Carver & Associates amalgamated with King Cain Richardson & Gilbertson and thereafter for a short time the firm was known as King Cain Carver, some of the details relating to this transaction being decided by a toss of a coin (won by Mr Cain).
Although Mr Carver remained with the firm the name was afterwards changed and shortened to King Cain and has remained so ever since.
Other persons have come and gone since that time. Mr Richardson has retired and now lives on the South Coast, Mr Oakley joined the partnership in 2001 and Mr Gilbertson has retired as a partner and moved away from Bathurst.
The firms first female partner Ms Ellen Hennessy was appointed in 2006 with foundation partner Mr Peter Cain stepping down from the partnership but continued to practice law as a full-time consultant until his sudden death in May 2008. Ellen has now left the practice to start a family. Paul Carver and Matthew Oakley are the continuing partners following Ellen’s retirement and Peter’s death.
Some members of staff have been employed for many years, the longest serving employee Mrs Janet McDonald commenced work immediately after leaving school in the early 1970’s.
King Cain, its partners and employees have been a part of and active within the community, in such things as the Church, schools and sporting clubs and are proud to have been able to contribute to the community and receive its support over a large number of years.