Background
Bernays was the son of Doctor Adolphus Bernays (a brother of Chakam Isaac Bernays), a professor of German language and literature at King"s College London, and his wife Martha, née Arrowsmith, and was born in London.
Bernays was the son of Doctor Adolphus Bernays (a brother of Chakam Isaac Bernays), a professor of German language and literature at King"s College London, and his wife Martha, née Arrowsmith, and was born in London.
He was educated at King"s College, and at the age of nineteen, emigrated to New Zealand, where he engaged in sheep farming for two years.
Bernays went to Sydney in 1852 obtained a position on the staff of the parliament of New South Wales. In 1859 Sir George Bowen, the governor of Queensland had requested a clerk for the new Legislative Assembly of Queensland. Bernays was appointed and came to Brisbane in 1860, and was present at the opening of the first parliament.
He was one of the founders of the Queensland Acclimatisation Society, and for a time its president
He was interested in economic botany, published The Olive and its Products (1872), and Cultural Industries for Queensland. Papers on the Cultivation of Useful Plants Suited to the Climate of Queensland (1883).
Created a Companion of St. Michael and St. George in 1892, Bernays was a very competent public servant, who played a prominent part in the Queensland parliament. He knew thoroughly its law and practice, and in times of difficulties party leaders naturally turned to him.
He was a man of culture and remained a student all his life.
Bernays is buried in Toowong Cemetery. In 1909, a bust of Bernays was commissioned from sculptor James Laurence Watts for the Queensland Parliament House.
He organized the inner working of parliament, became an authority on procedure, and was the guide and friend of successive generations of members of parliament, until his death at Brisbane on 22 August 1908. Bernays had other activities and was for a time secretary to the Brisbane Board of Water Works and later a member of the board.