William Martin (judge)

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William Martin around 1842, lithograph by J. Carpenter, Alexander Turnbull Library

Sir William Martin (* in Birmingham ; baptized May 22, 1807 ; † November 18, 1880 in Torquay ) was the first Chief Justice of New Zealand from 1841 to 1857 .

biography

His wife Mary Ann Martin, Caroline Harriet Abraham and Sarah Selwyn

Martin was born in Birmingham and baptized on May 22, 1807, so 1807 can be assumed to be the year of his birth. He was educated at King Edward's School in Birmingham and studied at St John's College , Cambridge .

In January 1841 he was appointed judge by the Colonial Office and sworn in on January 10, 1842. He arrived in New Zealand in August 1841 and took office as Chief Justice on February 5, 1841. He worked with Henry Samuel Chapman , who was appointed judge of the province of New Munster in southern New Zealand, including Wellington and the South Island , in 1843 and who served as a judge in Wellington for eight years until 1852. Together they produced the Report on Supreme Court Procedure for New Zealand of 1852.

Martin, Attorney General William Swainson, and Thomas Outhwaite , the Supreme Court's first registrar, were responsible for building the New Zealand judiciary. Martin, a friend of the Anglican Bishop George Augustus Selwyn , was benevolent towards the missionary and evangelical endeavors of the Anglican Church in the South Pacific and among the Māori . He wrote protests against the crown's disregard for its moral obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi and the invasion of Taranaki .

On June 12, 1857 Martin resigned from his office. His successor in office was George Arney . In 1860 Martin was promoted to Knight Bachelor .

Martin was one of the authors of the book " Extracts of letters from New Zealand on the war question " written in support of the natives of New Zealand . The other authors were his wife Mary Ann (née Parker), George Selwyn and his wife Sarah Selwyn, Caroline Harriet Abraham and her husband. The book was printed in London in 1861 and self-published.

William Martin died on November 18, 1880 in Torquay , New Zealand.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b G. P. Barton: Martin, William - Biography . In: Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture & Heritage . Retrieved April 24, 2012.
  2. ^ Anne Kirker: Caroline Harriet Abraham . In: Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture & Heritage . Accessed December 2011.
personal data
SURNAME Martin, William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British judge, first Chief Justice of New Zealand
DATE OF BIRTH baptized May 22, 1807
PLACE OF BIRTH Birmingham
DATE OF DEATH November 18, 1880
Place of death Torquay