Sway a crowd, wear a martyr’s crown: how one NSW politician went from scandal to political success – and wrote a playbook still used today (opens in new tab)

At the turn of last century, an ambitious young solicitor caused a scandal in a high-profile murder case. Years later he was a political leader in a new nation. How did he do it?In June 1896, a tall, well-dressed man arrived at the supreme court of New South Wales in Sydney. Flanked by his barristers, Richard Meagher was coming to play his part in the final scenes of a criminal and political scandal that had transfixed the Australian colonies for the past year – the Dean case.The outcome of t...