Sir William Martin (1807 – 18 November 1880) was the first Chief Justice of

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, from 1841 until he resigned in 1857.

Biography

Originally from the family of the Martins of

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, Martin was born in

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. He was born in 1807 and baptised on 22 May 1807. He was educated at King Edward VI Grammar School, Eton, and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

. On 3 April 1841, he married Mary Ann Parker at

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where her father was rector. He was appointed Chief Justice of the

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by the

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in January 1841 (warrant under Royal sign manual 5 February 1841; sworn 10 January 1842), and arrived in New Zealand in August 1841. left, Mary Ann Martin and Sarah Selwyn">Mary_Martin_(teacher).html" ;"title="Caroline Abraham, Mary Martin (teacher)">Mary Ann Martin and Sarah Selwyn He worked in New Zealand with Henry Samuel Chapman, who in 1843 was appointed Judge for New Munster Province, New Munster, the southern Provinces of New Zealand, province of New Zealand including Wellington and the South Island, and was resident judge at Wellington for eight years to 1852. They produced the 1852 ''Report on Supreme Court Procedure for New Zealand''. Sir William also sat on circuit as a judge around New Zealand. Martin, the

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 ...

William Swainson William Swainson Fellow of the Linnean Society, FLS, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (8 October 1789 – 6 December 1855), was an English ornithologist, Malacology, malacologist, Conchology, conchologist, entomologist and artist. Life Swains ...

and Thomas Outhwaite, the first Registrar of the Supreme Court, were responsible for setting up the New Zealand judicial system. Martin, a friend of Bishop George Selwyn was sympathetic to the missionary and evangelical aspirations of the Anglican Church in the South Pacific, and to the Māori. Martin was appointed one of the two lay members of the council of St John’s College in 1850; and acted as a co-examiner with Bishop Selwyn of candidates for ordination in the Anglican church. He wrote protests against the Crown's disregard of its moral obligations under the

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and the invasion of Taranaki. He resigned on 12 June 1857, and was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1860. Martin was one of the authors of a book written in support of the native people of New Zealand called ''Extracts of letters from New Zealand on the war question''. He created it with his wife, Mary Ann, George and Sarah Selwyn, Charles Abraham and his wife Caroline. This book was distributed privately after being printed in London in 1861. He returned to England in 1874, dying at

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in 1880. As a judge, Sir William Martin was courteous and patient, but firm, impartial, and of unimpeachable integrity.

References

External links

Biography in the 1966 Encyclopaedia of New Zealand
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, William 1807 births 1880 deaths New Zealand Knights Bachelor Lawyers from Birmingham, West Midlands Chief justices of New Zealand High Court of New Zealand judges Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Colony of New Zealand judges