Sir William Martin (1807,
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county of England. Birmingham is the second-most populous British city, with a population of 1,006,500 ....
- 18 November 1880,
TorquayTorquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies miles south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998...
) was the first
Chief Justice of New ZealandThe 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 1841 to 1857, when he resigned.
Martin was educated at
King Edward's School, BirminghamKing Edward's School is an independent secondary school in Birmingham, England, founded by King Edward VI in 1552. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham, and is widely regarded as one of the most academically successful schools in the country, according to...
and
St John's College, CambridgeSt John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college has fixed assets of £567,390,000, granting it the largest endowment per student of any Cambridge college...
. He was appointed by the Colonial Office in January 1841 (warrant under Royal sign manual 5 February 1841; sworn 10 January 1842), and arrived in New Zealand in August 1841.
He worked in New Zealand with
Henry Samuel ChapmanHenry Samuel Chapman was an Australian and New Zealand judge, colonial secretary, attorney-general, journalist and politician.-Early life:...
, who in 1843 was appointed Judge for
New MunsterNew Munster was an early original European name for the South Island of New Zealand, given by the Governor of New Zealand, Captain William Hobson, in honour of Munster, the Irish province in which he was born.-Province:...
, the southern
provinceThe Provinces of New Zealand existed from 1841 until the Abolition of the Provinces Act 1875 came into force on November 1, 1876.Following abolition, the provinces became known as provincial districts...
of New Zealand including Wellington and the South Island, and was resident judge at Wellington for eight years to 1852.
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Sir William Martin (1807,
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county of England. Birmingham is the second-most populous British city, with a population of 1,006,500 ....
- 18 November 1880,
TorquayTorquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies miles south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998...
) was the first
Chief Justice of New ZealandThe 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 1841 to 1857, when he resigned.
Martin was educated at
King Edward's School, BirminghamKing Edward's School is an independent secondary school in Birmingham, England, founded by King Edward VI in 1552. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham, and is widely regarded as one of the most academically successful schools in the country, according to...
and
St John's College, CambridgeSt John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college has fixed assets of £567,390,000, granting it the largest endowment per student of any Cambridge college...
. He was appointed by the Colonial Office in January 1841 (warrant under Royal sign manual 5 February 1841; sworn 10 January 1842), and arrived in New Zealand in August 1841.
He worked in New Zealand with
Henry Samuel ChapmanHenry Samuel Chapman was an Australian and New Zealand judge, colonial secretary, attorney-general, journalist and politician.-Early life:...
, who in 1843 was appointed Judge for
New MunsterNew Munster was an early original European name for the South Island of New Zealand, given by the Governor of New Zealand, Captain William Hobson, in honour of Munster, the Irish province in which he was born.-Province:...
, the southern
provinceThe Provinces of New Zealand existed from 1841 until the Abolition of the Provinces Act 1875 came into force on November 1, 1876.Following abolition, the provinces became known as provincial districts...
of New Zealand including Wellington and the South Island, and was resident judge at Wellington for eight years to 1852. They produced the 1852
Report on Supreme Court Procedure for New Zealand.
Martin and the
Attorney-GeneralThe Attorney-General is a political office in New Zealand. It is simultaneously a ministerial position and an administrative office, and has responsibility for supervising New Zealand law and advising the government on legal matters....
William SwainsonWilliam Swainson was born in Lancaster, England on 25 April 1809 and educated in Lancaster Grammar School. His legal education was in Middle Temple and he was called to the bar in 1838...
were responsible for setting up the New Zealand judicial system. Martin, a friend of
George Augustus SelwynThe Right Reverend George Augustus Selwyn was the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand. He was Bishop of New Zealand from 1841 to 1858, Primate of New Zealand from 1858 to 1868 and Bishop of Lichfield from 1868 to 1878...
was sympathetic to the missionary and evangelical aspirations of the Anglican Church in the South Pacific, and to the Māori. He wrote protests against the Crown's disregard of its moral obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi and the invasion of Taranaki.
He resigned on 12 June 1857, and was
knightedThe rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the 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 1860.
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