apparent complexity and difficulty of his position, Wylde discharged his duties faithfully and properly, and at times, revolutionised several of the statutes of the courts and legal system in the new colony; he did not allow convict attorneys to practise in his court, oversaw the establishment of a supreme court in Van Diemen's Land and revised the port regulations of Ellis Bent. In 1821, Wylde sent a report of the judicial and legal state and process of establishment in the new colony to Commissioner John Bigge. This report described at length the need for the laws of New South Wales to be modified so that they would be in near parallel with those of England. This report, along with Wylde's way of handling his many judicial duties, his suggestions and, at times, even Wylde himself, were fiercely criticised in a confidential letter from Bigge to Henry Bathurst on 9 September 1822. The criticism was so intense and detailed, that it was considered by many to be overly harsh. After a farewell speech at the final sitting of the Governor's Court in May 1824, in which he strongly defended himself, Wylde left his post. His legal career continued however, and in March 1824 he became a judge of the supreme court, until 17 May, when Francis Forbes opened a new Supreme Court which superseded the one Wylde was at, and Wylde's work there ceased. Chief Justice of the Cape Colony Wylde sailed to England in 1825, was knighted in 1827 and was then appointed Chief Justice of the new court of the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. He remained in this position for the rest of his career. He presided over the abolition of slavery on 1 December 1834, and over the beginnings of representative government in the early 1850s. While his work was, according to contemporary accounts, of the highest quality, his public life was beset with scandals. Nowadays he is considered to have been a weak Chief Justice, largely ignorant of the Roman-Dutch law that applied at the Cape, and overshadow by senior puisne judge William Menzies. Wylde retired in 1855, following a stroke, and was replaced by Sir William Hodges. Personal life Wylde had and received many land grants, including over 800 hectares of land at Cabramatta, and over 50 hectares in Potts Point. At Pott's Point Wylde built a palatial home where he lived in