Martin Chapman (26 March 1846 – 17 March 1924) was a New Zealand barrister. The law firm founded by him in 1875 still exists as

Chapman Tripp Chapman Tripp is New Zealand's largest commercial law firm. It is considered one of the "big three" law firms along with Russell McVeagh and Bell Gully. Established in New Zealand in 1875, it now has around 52 partners and roughly 240 legal staff ...

. He also played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

for

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

Early life

Chapman was born in 1846 in the

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

suburb of

Karori Karori is a suburb located at the western edge of the urban area of Wellington, New Zealand, from the city centre and is one of New Zealand's most populous suburbs, with a population of in The name Karori used to be Kaharore and is from th ...

, the third son of

Henry Samuel Chapman Henry Samuel Chapman (21 July 1803 – 27 December 1881) was an Australian and New Zealand judge, colonial secretary, attorney-general, journalist and politician. Early life Chapman was born at Kennington, London, the son of Henry Chapman, Engl ...

. Frederick Chapman was a younger brother. He received his education at the

Melbourne Grammar School Melbourne Grammar School is an Australian private school, private Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Day school, day and boarding school. It comprises a co-educational preparatory school from Prep to Year 6 and a middle school and senior s ...

and in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and was called to the bar of the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1871. As a young man, he was a keen sportsman and owned several yachts. He played three first-class matches for

between 1864 and 1868.

Professional career

Chapman returned to New Zealand in 1875 and started to practise on his own account. He was joined in 1882 by William Fitzgerald, a son of James FitzGerald. His partner died in June 1888, and Leonard Owen Howard Tripp joined as the new partner. The name of the firm changed several times due to amalgamations and changes in partners, but reverted to

in 1949, under which it is still known today. Chapman was among the first seven King's Counsel to be appointed in New Zealand in 1907. He retired in 1912.

Other activities and death

Chapman took over the editorship of the ''

New Zealand Law Reports The New Zealand Law Reports (NZLR) are the official law report series of the senior courts of New Zealand comprising the Supreme Court of New Zealand, Court of Appeal of New Zealand and High Court of New Zealand The High Court of New Zeala ...

'' after Fitzgerald's death. Chapman was a

Wellington City Council Wellington City Council is a Territorial authorities of New Zealand, territorial authority in New Zealand, governing the city of Wellington, the country's capital city and List of cities in New Zealand#City councils, third-largest city by popul ...

lor (1888–1890) and a member of the council of the Wellington Law Society. He had an aptitude for languages and as a young man, he became proficient in French and German. He later learned Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese, and Dutch when he was at old age. He once gave as his reason for taking up Spanish because he planned to go on a trip to that country, and could not bear the thought of not being able to read the local newspapers. Chapman died at his home in Golder's Hill (since renamed to Eccleston Hill) in Thorndon on 17 March 1924 aged 78. The funeral service was held at

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

, after which he was cremated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Martin 1846 births 1924 deaths Wellington City Councillors People educated at Melbourne Grammar School New Zealand King's Counsel Members of the Inner Temple New Zealand cricketers Otago cricketers