Eddie_Durie

Eddie Durie

Eddie Durie

New Zealand judge (born 1940)


Sir Edward Taihakurei Durie KNZM (born 18 January 1940) is a New Zealand jurist who served on the High Court of New Zealand between 1998 and 2004. He was the first Māori appointed as a judge of a New Zealand court.

Quick Facts The Honourable SirKNZM, Justice of the High Court ...

Career

Durie graduated with a BA and an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1964.

Durie was appointed a judge in 1974 and then was the Chief Judge of the Māori Land Court from 1980–1998, Chairman of the Waitangi Tribunal from 1980–2004, and a Law Commissioner. In 1998 he was appointed to the High Court of New Zealand. He retired from the High Court in 2004, at which point he was the longest-serving member of the New Zealand judiciary.[1][2]

In 2009, Durie was appointed by Attorney-General Chris Finlayson to chair the Ministerial taskforce on the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004.[3]

In 2012, Durie was elected to the Maori Council and elected co-chair, a role he held until being appointed the sole chair of the national body in April 2016.[4]

Honours and awards

In 1977, Durie was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal, and in 1990 he received the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.[5] In the 2008 New Year Honours, Durie was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the Maori Land Court, Waitangi Tribunal and High Court of New Zealand.[6] In 2009, following the reinstatement of titular honours by the New Zealand government, he accepted redesignation as a Knight Companion of New Zealand Order of Merit.[7]

Durie holds honorary doctorates from Victoria University of Wellington,[8] Massey University[9] and the University of Waikato.[10]

Personal life

Durie is of Rangitāne, Ngāti Kauwhata and Ngāti Raukawa descent. The community leader John Mason Durie (1889–1971) was his grandfather,[11] and he is the younger brother of Māori academic, Professor Sir Mason Durie. Durie is married to lawyer Donna Hall who operates a law firm, Woodward, from their home in Lower Hutt.[citation needed]

On 13 April 2002, Durie's 8-month-old adopted daughter Kahurautete ('Kahu') was kidnapped at gunpoint in Lower Hutt and held for $3 million ransom.[12] Kahu was found by police eight days later, 660 kilometres (410 mi) away in Taumarunui.[13] The kidnapper was sentenced to eleven years imprisonment and released after serving seven years.[14] The kidnapping was the subject of the 2010 film Stolen: The Baby Kahu Story in which Eddie Durie was played by George Henare.[15]


References

  1. "Production Shed – Justice Durie". productionshed.tv. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  2. "Complete list of all Judges – Māori Land Court". justice.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 4 May 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  3. "New Zealand Law Society". Archived from the original on 22 May 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  4. "Waatea News | Podcasts". Archived from the original on 26 January 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  5. Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 129. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.
  6. "New Year honours list 2008". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2007. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  7. "Special honours list 1 August 2009". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 5 April 2011. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  8. "Honorary graduates and Hunter fellowships". wgtn.ac.nz. Victoria University of Wellington. Archived from the original on 25 March 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  9. "Te Aute leaders 1st XV celebrated". massey.ac.nz. Massey University. 10 November 2009. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  10. "Honorary Doctors of the University of Waikato". Calendar: University of Waikato. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  11. "NZ judge's baby girl abducted". News 24. 14 April 2002. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  12. "Baby Kahu Found Safe And Well". Scoop. 21 April 2002. Archived from the original on 8 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  13. "Kidnapper set for freedom as victim turns eight". Stuff. 1 August 2009. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  14. "Parents of kidnapped baby Kahu angry over TV drama". The New Zealand Herald. 29 July 2010. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.

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