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

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

, from 1841 until he resigned in 1857.

Biography

Originally from the family of the Martins of

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Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include L ...

, Martin was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

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

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, and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. Th ...

. On 3 April 1841, he married

Mary Ann Parker Mary Ann Parker (1765/6–1848) was an English traveller and writer whose 1795 book ''A Voyage Round the World, in the Gorgon Man of War'' included the first published description by a woman of an Australian colony. Travel She travelled to New S ...

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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

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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. A prolific c ...

and

Thomas Outhwaite The Outhwaite family were early settlers in Auckland, New Zealand and were a prominent family in Auckland in the first 85 years of the city's existence. They made substantial contributions to the legal, administrative, musical, literary, artistic, ...

, 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

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in the treatment of the M ...

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

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and

Sarah Selwyn Sarah Harriet Selwyn ( Richardson; 2 September 1807 – 24 March 1907) was the wife of George Augustus Selwyn, the first Anglican bishop of New Zealand and later of Lichfield. Often left behind to manage missionary stations while her husband tr ...

, Charles Abraham and his wife

Caroline Caroline may refer to: People * Caroline (given name), a feminine given name * J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player * Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player Places Antarctica * ...

. This book was distributed privately after being printed in London in 1861. He returned to England in 1874, dying at

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignt ...

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