Sir John Ranken Reed (26 December 1864 – 22 April 1955) was a New Zealand judge. Reed was the eldest son of

George McCullagh Reed George McCullagh Reed (1831 – 13 November 1898) was a New Zealand presbyterian minister, journalist and newspaper proprietor. Reed was born in County Monaghan, Ireland in about 1831. He received his education from Queen's College, Belfast, ...

, a newspaper proprietor, and Jessie Chalmers Reed (née Ranken). He was born in

Ipswich, Queensland Ipswich () is an urban centre within the City of Ipswich in South East Queensland, Australia. Situated on the Bremer River (Queensland), Bremer River, it is approximately 40 km (25 mi) west of the Brisbane central business district. Ipswich is ...

, where his father had moved to in 1861 to be the Presbyterian minister. His brother was

Vernon Reed Vernon Herbert Reed (7 May 1871 – 26 May 1963) was a Liberal Party and from 1912 a Reform Party member of parliament in New Zealand. He was later a member of the Legislative Council. Early life Reed was the youngest son of George McCullagh ...

. He received his education at

Auckland Grammar School Auckland Grammar School (often simplified to Auckland Grammar, or Grammar), established in 1869, is a State school, state, Day school, day and Boarding school, boarding secondary school for Single-sex education, boys in Auckland, New Zealand. ...

Dunedin High School Dunedin High School is a high school in Dunedin, Florida, United States. It is operated by the Pinellas County School Board. The school mascot is Freddie the Falcon. The official school colors are red and white, though red and black have become ...

Victoria College, Jersey Victoria College is a Government of Jersey, Government-run, Independent school, fee-paying, academically selective day school

, and Clare College in the University of Cambridge, England. He served his articles with Devore and Cooper in Auckland and was admitted as a barrister in June 1887. He had a practice in the

Bay of Islands The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for ...

and relocated to Auckland in early 1896, where he joined William Thorne. In 1898, Reed set up his own practice in Auckland. In 1900, he took James Every Stephen Bailey into a partnership under the banner of Reed and Bailey. In 1912, Roland Perceval Towle joined the partnership, and their practice was known as Reed, Bailey and Towle. Bailey retired at the end of 1919 and two of the staff became partners instead, and the practice was then known as Reed, Towle, Hellaby, and Cooper. For a time, Reed was president of the Auckland Law Society. Outside of the judiciary, Reed had a strong interest in military matters and in 1911, he was appointed Judge Advocate General of the New Zealand Territorial Forces. In November 1912, Reed was appointed

King's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

. In February 1921, he was appointed judge to the Supreme Court; this was the first of two appointments triggered by the retirement of Justice Chapman and the resignation of Justice Cooper. He retired from his practice at the end of February 1921 but the name did not change as Reed's son, Mervyn Ranken Reed, carried on as one of the partners. Reed was also a prominent

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, serving as the Auckland district grand master for seven years. Reed was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(military division) in the 1919 King's Birthday Honours. In 1935, he was awarded the

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver Ju ...

. He was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in the 1936 King's Birthday Honours.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, John Ranken 1864 births 1955 deaths New Zealand King's Counsel High Court of New Zealand judges New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand Knights Bachelor New Zealand Freemasons People educated at Auckland Grammar School People educated at Otago Boys' High School People educated at Victoria College, Jersey Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Australian emigrants to New Zealand