Sir Ronald Keith Davison (16 November 1920 – 2 July 2015) was a New Zealand lawyer and jurist. He served as the tenth

Chief Justice of New Zealand The chief justice of New Zealand ( mi, Te Kaiwhakawā Tumuaki o Aotearoa) is the head of the New Zealand judiciary, and presides over the Supreme Court of New Zealand. The chief justice of New Zealand is also the chief justice of Tokelau. Bef ...

from 1978 to 1989,

Early life and family

Born in

Kaponga Kaponga is a small town in the southern part of the Taranaki region of New Zealand. It is known as "The Gateway to Dawson's Falls" on Mount Taranaki. Kaponga is located inland from Manaia and Eltham, and is on the main road connecting Eltha ...

on 16 November 1920, Davison was the son of Joseph James Davison and Florence Minnie Davison (née McCleland). He was educated at Te Kuiti District High School. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he served with the

New Zealand Army , image = New Zealand Army Logo.png , image_size = 175px , caption = , start_date = , country = , branch = ...

(1941–1942) and

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeal ...

(1942–1945), before compleing a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of ...

degree at

Auckland University College , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn ...

in 1947. In 1948, Davison married Jacqueline May Carr, and the couple had three children, including Paul Davison , a barrister who prosecuted, among other cases, the trial of

Scott Watson Ben Smart and Olivia Hope, two young New Zealanders, disappeared in the early hours of the morning on New Year's Day, 1January 1998. The two friends had been celebrating on New Year's Eve at Furneaux Lodge in the Marlborough Sounds with other pa ...

for the disappearance of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope in the Marlborough Sounds on 1 January 1998.

Career

Davison presided over the case of the sinking of the ''Rainbow Warrior''. His sentence of 10 years jail for the French secret service agents was highly applauded, and he made a memorable statement:

People who come to this country and commit terrorist activities cannot expect to have a short holiday at the expense of our Government and return home as heroes.

When ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspaper ...

'' celebrated its 150th birthday in November 2013, they named a "New Zealander of the Year" for each year of their history. Davison was their New Zealander of the Year for 1985 for his conduct during the trial of the French secret service agents. Davison headed the government inquiry (1994–1997) into certain matters related to overseas company taxation, popularly known as the Winebox Inquiry. This involved allegations against a number of parties including the

merchant bank A merchant bank is historically a bank dealing in commercial loans and investment. In modern British usage it is the same as an investment bank. Merchant banks were the first modern banks and evolved from medieval merchants who traded in commodi ...

Fay Richwhite. He also presided over the 1994 inquiry into the

Family court Family courts were originally created to be a Court of Equity convened to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, including custody of children, and could disregard certain legal requirements as long as the petitioner/plaintif ...

proceedings involving the Bristol family, which resulted in a number of changes being made to New Zealand's child protection legislation. Davison was appointed

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

on 16 June 1963. In the

1975 Queen's Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1975 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were published on 6 June 1975 for ...

, Davison was appointed a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in hono ...

, for public services. He was appointed a

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

on 11 February 1978, just after his appointment as Chief Justice. Also in 1978, he was appointed to the Privy Council. He was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977, and the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal in 1990.

Death

Davison died on 2 July 2015. Jacqueline, Lady Davison, died in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

on 16 November 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davison, Ronald 1920 births 2015 deaths People from Kaponga New Zealand military personnel of World War II University of Auckland alumni 20th-century New Zealand judges Chief justices of New Zealand High Court of New Zealand judges Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council New Zealand King's Counsel New Zealand Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George New Zealand members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom

Early life and family

Career

Death

See also

References