Sir David Lance Tompkins (26 July 1929 – 1 July 2023) was a New Zealand lawyer and jurist. He served as a judge of the

High Court of New Zealand The High Court of New Zealand ( mi, Te Kōti Matua o Aotearoa) is the superior court of New Zealand. It has general jurisdiction and responsibility, under the Senior Courts Act 2016, as well as the High Court Rules 2016, for the administration ...

from 1983 to 1997 and on the benches of the Courts of Appeal of

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

and

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

. He was chancellor of the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato), is a Public university, public research university in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand established in 1964. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university perfo ...

between 1981 and 1985.

Early life and family

Tompkins was born in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

on 26 July 1929, the son of Arthur Lance Tompkins and Marjorie Rees Tompkins (née Manning). His maternal grandfather was

Arthur Edwards Manning Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

who served as mayor of Hamilton from 1912 to 1915, and his paternal great-aunt was the artist Helen Crabb. He was educated at

Southwell School Southwell School, is an independent co-educational Anglican boarding and day school set in 32 acres of park like grounds in central Hamilton, New Zealand. Southwell offers education to children aged 5 to 13 years. A number of international stud ...

in Hamilton from 1939 to 1942, and

King's College, Auckland King's College (Latin: ''Collegium Regis''; mi, Kīngi Kāreti), often informally referred to simply as King's, is an independent secondary boarding and day school in New Zealand. It educates over 1000 pupils, aged 13 to 18 years. King's was o ...

from 1943 to 1946. He went on to study law 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 F ...

, graduating with 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 Chi ...

degree in 1952. In 1956, Tompkins married Erica Lya Felicity Faris, and the couple had three children, including Arthur Tompkins, who was appointed a district court judge in 1997.

Career

Tompkins was a partner in the Hamilton legal firm of

Tompkins Wake Tompkins Wake is a New Zealand law firm, headquartered in Hamilton, New Zealand with offices also in Auckland, Rotorua and Tauranga. The firm was founded as Tompkins and Wake in Hamilton on 22 June 1922 by Lance Tompkins and Cecil Barry Wake ...

from 1953 to 1971 and continued practising as a barrister until 1983. He was appointed

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1974 and served as a judge of the Courts Martial Appeal Court between 1982 and 1983. In 1983, he was appointed to the bench of the High Court, serving as a judge until 1997, although he continued to serve after that as an acting judge. Between 1989 and 1992, he was executive judge of the High Court in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, from 1995 he was a judge of the Court of Appeal of Tonga, and from 1997 a judge of the Court of Appeal of Fiji. Tompkins was president of the Hamilton District Law Society between 1969 and 1971, and active in the

New Zealand Law Society The New Zealand Law Society ( mi, Te Kāhui Ture o Aotearoa) is the parent body for barristers and solicitors in New Zealand. It was established in 1869, and regulates all lawyers practising in New Zealand. Membership of the society is voluntary, ...

, serving as a council member from 1969 to 1971 and vice president from 1979 to 1981. He was also a LAWASIA council member between 1979 and 1981, and was chair of the Council of Legal Education from 1992 to 1998. Outside of the legal sphere, Tompkins was president of Birthright Waikato in 1966, vice president then president of the

Outward Bound Outward Bound (OB) is an international network of outdoor education organizations that was founded in the United Kingdom by Lawrence Holt and Kurt Hahn in 1941. Today there are organizations, called schools, in over 35 countries which are att ...

Trust from 1981 to 1984, and chancellor of the University of Waikato from 1981 to 1985.

Honours and awards

In 1977, Tompkins was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'argent de la reine Elizabeth II) is a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The medal is p ...

, and in 1990 he received the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people. Background The New Zea ...

. In the

1999 Queen's Birthday Honours The 1999 Queen's Birthday Honours to celebrate the Queen's Official Birthday were announced on 7 June 1999 in New Zealand and Niue, and on 12 June 1999 in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms.Tuvalu list: The recipients of honours ar ...

, he was appointed a

Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services as a judge of the High Court and to the community. In 1986, Tompkins was conferred with an honorary doctorate by the University of Waikato.

Later life

Tompkins' wife, Felicity, Lady Tompkins, died in 2019. Tompkins died on 1 July 2023, aged 93.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tompkins, David 1929 births 2023 deaths 20th-century King's Counsel 20th-century New Zealand judges Chancellors of the University of Waikato High Court of New Zealand judges Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand judges on the courts of Fiji New Zealand judges on the courts of Tonga New Zealand King's Counsel People educated at King's College, Auckland University of Auckland alumni