Charles Skerrett
Encyclopedia
Sir Charles Perrin Skerrett KCMG
, KC (2 September 1863 – 13 February 1929) was the fifth Chief Justice of New Zealand
, from 1926 to 1929.
He was born in India
. His father Peter Perrin Skerrett was born in Ireland and descended from the Skerretts of Finavera in County Clare; originally the Skerretts were one of the fourteen Tribes of Galway
. He was a sergeant in the Army in India; he did not have the private income needed by officers.
The family moved to New Zealand when Charles was 12. He was educated at Wellington College
. He joined the Post Office, then the Treasury, then to the Department of Justice as a clerk in the Wellington Magistrates’ Court.
He was articled to Buller, Lewis & Gully and admitted to the bar in 1884. He went into private practice, and was associated with the Wellington law firms of Skerrett and Wyllie and Chapman Tripp. In 1907 when the first King’s Counsel was appointed in New Zealand Skerrett was one of the first to take silk. From 1918 to 1926 he was President of the New Zealand Law Society.
On 1 February 1926 he was appointed Chief Justice, and was created K.C.M.G. in 1927.
He left for London in 1929, and died at sea on the Port Denison. He was unmarried.
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, KC (2 September 1863 – 13 February 1929) was the fifth Chief Justice of New Zealand
Chief Justice of New Zealand
The Chief Justice of New Zealand is the head of the New Zealand judiciary, and presides over the Supreme Court of New Zealand. Before the establishment of the latter court in 2004 the Chief Justice was the presiding judge in the High Court of New Zealand and was also ex officio a member of the...
, from 1926 to 1929.
He was born in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. His father Peter Perrin Skerrett was born in Ireland and descended from the Skerretts of Finavera in County Clare; originally the Skerretts were one of the fourteen Tribes of Galway
Tribes of Galway
The Tribes of Galway were fourteen merchant families who dominated the political, commercial, and social life of the city of Galway in western Ireland between the mid-13th and late-19th centuries. They were the families of Athy, Blake, Bodkin, Browne, D'Arcy, Deane, Font, Ffrench, Joyce, Kirwan,...
. He was a sergeant in the Army in India; he did not have the private income needed by officers.
The family moved to New Zealand when Charles was 12. He was educated at Wellington College
Wellington College (New Zealand)
Wellington College is a state secondary school for boys in Mount Victoria in Wellington, New Zealand.-History:Wellington College opened in 1867 as Wellington Grammar School in Woodward Street, though Sir George Grey gave the school a deed of endowment in 1853. In 1874 it opened at its present...
. He joined the Post Office, then the Treasury, then to the Department of Justice as a clerk in the Wellington Magistrates’ Court.
He was articled to Buller, Lewis & Gully and admitted to the bar in 1884. He went into private practice, and was associated with the Wellington law firms of Skerrett and Wyllie and Chapman Tripp. In 1907 when the first King’s Counsel was appointed in New Zealand Skerrett was one of the first to take silk. From 1918 to 1926 he was President of the New Zealand Law Society.
On 1 February 1926 he was appointed Chief Justice, and was created K.C.M.G. in 1927.
He left for London in 1929, and died at sea on the Port Denison. He was unmarried.
External links
- Biography in the 1966 Encyclopaedia of New Zealand
- Skerrett and Wyllie from Cyclopaedia of New Zealand c1897