Sir David Stanley Smith (11 February 1888 – 29 December 1982) was a New Zealand lawyer, judge and educationalist. Smith was born in Dunedin,

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

, New Zealand in 1888. He worked for

Charles Morison Charles Bruce Morison (1861 – 6 January 1920), known by his first name and referred to as C. B. Morison in contemporary sources, was a New Zealand barrister. He stood in two elections around the turn of the century in the Otaki electorate an ...

as an assistant from 1912. He Smith was appointed as a judge to the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in 1928, a relatively early appointment based on his performance as counsel for Maori land claims. Smith received a knighthood in the

1948 New Year Honours The 1948 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1948 for the Britis ...

. A few months later, he resigned as a judge and concentrated on public affairs. Smith was a member of the

Victoria University College Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

Council (1939–1945) and in 1945 became chancellor of the University of New Zealand. For his services to tertiary education, he received honorary doctorates from the University of Oxford (1948) and the University of New Zealand (1961). He died in Wellington on 29 December 1982 and his ashes were buried at Karori Cemetery. His daughter, Shirley Smith, became a lawyer.

References

1888 births 1982 deaths Lawyers from Dunedin High Court of New Zealand judges Academic staff of the University of New Zealand Burials at Karori Cemetery New Zealand Knights Bachelor 20th-century New Zealand lawyers {{NewZealand-law-bio-stub