Catherine Anne Davani (3 June 19604 November 2016) was a

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

n judge. She was the first female to serve as a judge of the

Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea The Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea has been the highest court of Papua New Guinea since 16 September 1975, replacing the pre-Independence Supreme Court (corresponding to the post-Independence National Court) and the overseas appellate tribunal ...

from 2001 until her death. Davani was born in Wau in

Morobe Province Morobe Province is a province on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital and largest city is Lae. The province covers 33,705 km2, with a population of 674,810 (2011 census), and since the division of Southern Highlands P ...

, but later lived at Dorom in

Rigo District Rigo District is a district of Central Province in Papua New Guinea. It is one of the four administrative districts that make up the province. Local-level government areas * Rigo Central Rural * Rigo Coastal Rural * Rigo Inland Rural Town ...

of Central Province. She studied at Kerevat National High School near

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about 600 kilometres to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in ...

and the University of Papua New Guinea before completing the Legal Training Institute course in 1984. Davani was admitted as a lawyer in November 1984, and she worked in the civil section of the Public Solicitors' Office until 1987. She studied in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

from 1987 to 1988, obtaining a masters in law from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, before returning to

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...

to work for Namaliu & Co Lawyers. She subsequently worked for Gadens Ridgeway Lawyers from 1991 to 1994, Shepherds Lawyers from 1994 to 2000 and

Blake Dawson Waldron Ashurst Australia is the Australian branch of Ashurst LLP, an international commercial law firm. The Australian headquarters of Ashurst are in Sydney. Prior to its acquisition by Ashurst, the Australian firm was named Blake Dawson, one of the ' ...

from 2000 until her 2001 appointment to the judiciary. She was a member of the Lawyers Statutory Committee (1995-2001) and the Papua New Guinea Law Society Council (1998-2001). Davani was heavily involved in sporting activities as well, and played

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

at a local, national and international level. She represented Papua New Guinea in three

Oceania Football Confederation The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of the six continental confederations of international association football. The OFC has 13 members, 11 of which are full members and two which are associate members not affiliated with FIFA. It ...

World Cup qualifiers, and was captain of the

Papua New Guinea women's national football team The Papua New Guinea women's national football team is controlled by the Papua New Guinea Football Association (PNGFA). Its nickname is the ''Lakatois'', which is a Motuan sailing vessel. Their home ground is the Sir Hubert Murray Stadi ...

in the 1994 and 1998 qualifiers. She was also a member of the Papua New Guinea Sports Commission (1993-2001), an executive member of the Papua New Guinea Football Association (1989-2004), and its vice-president (1993-1995). In 2001, she was appointed a member of the Chamber of International Arbitration for Football, and when it merged into the Court of Arbitration for Sport, she became the Papua New Guinean representative on the court. She was married to John Davani, and they had four children. She died from cancer in November 2016 in a hospital in Brisbane,

, with the funeral and a ceremonial Supreme Court sitting being held in

on 14 November.

References

1960 births 2016 deaths Papua New Guinean judges People from Morobe Province People from Central Province (Papua New Guinea) Papua New Guinean women's soccer players Deaths from cancer in Queensland Women's association football players not categorized by position {{PapuaNewGuinea-women-footy-bio-stub