Sir Edward Taihakurei Durie (born 18 January 1940) is a New Zealand jurist who served on the

High Court of New Zealand The High Court of New Zealand () is the superior court of New Zealand. It has general jurisdiction and responsibility, under the Senior Courts Act 2016, as well as the High Court Rules 2016, for the administration of justice throughout New Zeala ...

between 1998 and 2004. He was the first

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

appointed a

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

of a New Zealand court.

Career

Durie graduated with a BA and an LLB from

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

in 1964. Durie was appointed a judge in 1974 and then was the Chief Judge of the

Māori Land Court The Māori Land Court () is the specialist court of record in New Zealand that hears matters relating to Māori land. Established in 1865 as the Native Land Court, its purpose was to translate customary communal landholdings into individual ti ...

from 1980–1998, Chairman of the

Waitangi Tribunal The Waitangi Tribunal (Māori: ''Te Rōpū Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi'') is a New Zealand permanent commission of inquiry established under the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. It is charged with investigating and making recommendations on c ...

from 1980–2004, and a Law Commissioner. In 1998 he was appointed to the

. He retired from the High Court in 2004, at which point he was the longest-serving member of the New Zealand judiciary. In 2009, Durie was appointed by

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Chris Finlayson Christopher Francis Finlayson (born 1956) is a New Zealand lawyer and former Member of Parliament, representing the National Party. He was elected to Parliament in 2005. In the Fifth National Government, from 2008 to 2017, he was Attorney-G ...

to chair the Ministerial taskforce on the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004. In 2012, Durie was elected to the Maori Council and elected co-chair, a role he held until being appointed the sole chair of the national body in April 2016. On 27January 2025, Durie presented in person to the Select Committee considering the draft Treaty Principles Bill. Durie opposed the bill and said that the bill ignored 50years of examination of cases that inform the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi by "well-qualified Māori and Pākehā of the Waitangi Tribunal". Moreover, if the bill became law, he believed the New Zealand government "would be the laughing stock of the western world, who understand how responsible states today seek to manage relationships with their indigenous people."

Honours and awards

In 1977, Durie was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal, and in 1990 he received the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal. In the 2008 New Year Honours, Durie was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the Maori Land Court, Waitangi Tribunal and High Court of New Zealand. In

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, following the reinstatement of titular honours by the New Zealand government, he accepted redesignation as a Knight Companion of New Zealand Order of Merit. Durie holds honorary doctorates from

Massey University Massey University () is a Public university, public research university in New Zealand that provides internal and distance education. The university has campuses in Auckland, Palmerston North, and Wellington. Data from Universities New Zealand ...

and the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato (), established in 1964, is a Public university, public research university located in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university performs research in nume ...

Personal life

Durie is of Rangitāne,

Ngāti Kauwhata Ngāti Kauwhata is a Māori people, Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) of the Manawatu District, Manawatū area of New Zealand. In the 2018 New Zealand census, 1,734 people listed Ngāti Kauwhata as their iwi. Ancestors of the iwi came to New Zealand on th ...

and Ngāti Raukawa descent. The community leader John Mason Durie (1889–1971) was his grandfather, and he is the younger brother of Māori academic, Professor Sir Mason Durie. Durie is married to lawyer Donna Hall who operates a law firm, Woodward, from their home in

Lower Hutt Lower Hutt () is a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropoli ...

. On 13 April 2002, Durie's 8-month-old adopted daughter Kahurautete ('Kahu') was kidnapped at gunpoint in

and held for $3 million ransom. Kahu was found by police eight days later, away in

Taumarunui Taumarunui is a small town in the King Country of the central North Island of New Zealand. It is on an alluvial plain set within rugged terrain on the upper reaches of the Whanganui River, 65 km south of Te Kūiti and 55 km west of T� ...

. The kidnapper was sentenced to eleven years imprisonment and released after serving seven years. The kidnapping was the subject of the 2010 film ''Stolen: The Baby Kahu Story'' in which Eddie Durie was played by George Henare.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Durie, Edward Taihakurei High Court of New Zealand judges Academic staff of Massey University Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit Living people 1940 births New Zealand Māori academics Place of birth missing (living people) Victoria University of Wellington alumni Rangitāne people Ngāti Raukawa people New Zealand Māori judges People from Feilding Members of the Waitangi Tribunal Eddie