Sir Peter Quilliam is a former Chief Justice of the Cook Islands

Chief Justice of the Cook Islands

The Chief Justice of the Cook Islands is the head of the Cook Islands judiciary. They preside over the High Court of the Cook Islands and serve as a member of the Cook Islands Court of Appeal. The office was established by the Cook Islands Constitution....

 and Justice of the High Court of New Zealand

High Court of New Zealand

The High Court of New Zealand is a superior court of New Zealand. It was established in 1841 and known as the Supreme Court of New Zealand until 1980....

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Quilliam graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington

Victoria University of Wellington

Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...

 in 1943. He practiced law in New Plymouth

New Plymouth

New Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki Region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England, from where the first English settlers migrated....

, then served as a High Court judge from 1969 to 1988 before becoming the first head of New Zealand's Police Complaints Authority (now the Independent Police Conduct Authority). He became a Knight Bachelor

Knight Bachelor

The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...

 in 1987.

Quilliam later became a judge of the High Court of the Cook Islands and Cook Islands Court of Appeal and served as Chief Justice.