Sir Ronald Keith Davison (16 November 1920 – 2 July 2015) was a New Zealand lawyer and jurist. He served as the tenth

Chief Justice of New Zealand The chief justice of New Zealand ( mi, Te Kaiwhakawā Tumuaki o Aotearoa) is the head of the New Zealand judiciary, and presides over the Supreme Court of New Zealand. The chief justice of New Zealand is also the chief justice of Tokelau. Befo ...

from 1978 to 1989,

Early life and family

Born in

Kaponga Kaponga is a small town in the southern part of the Taranaki region of New Zealand. It is known as "The Gateway to Dawson's Falls" on Mount Taranaki. Kaponga is located inland from Manaia and Eltham, and is on the main road connecting Eltham to ...

on 16 November 1920, Davison was the son of Joseph James Davison and Florence Minnie Davison (née McCleland). He was educated at Te Kuiti District High School. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he served with the

New Zealand Army , image = New Zealand Army Logo.png , image_size = 175px , caption = , start_date = , country = , branch = ...

(1941–1942) and

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeala ...

(1942–1945), before compleing 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 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 ...

in 1947. In 1948, Davison married Jacqueline May Carr, and the couple had three children, including

Paul Davison Paul S. Davison (born 1 October 1971) is an English former professional snooker player from Pickering, North Yorkshire. First earning a place on the World Snooker Tour in 1992, he played on the tour until 1997, and has since regained his place o ...

, a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

who prosecuted, among other cases, the trial of Scott Watson for the disappearance of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope in the

Marlborough Sounds The Marlborough Sounds are an extensive network of sea-drowned valleys at the northern end of the South Island of New Zealand. The Marlborough Sounds were created by a combination of land subsidence and rising sea levels. According to Māori m ...

on 1 January 1998.

Career

Davison presided over the case of the sinking of the ''Rainbow Warrior''. His sentence of 10 years jail for the French secret service agents was highly applauded, and he made a memorable statement:

People who come to this country and commit terrorist activities cannot expect to have a short holiday at the expense of our Government and return home as heroes.

When ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

'' celebrated its 150th birthday in November 2013, they named a "New Zealander of the Year" for each year of their history. Davison was their New Zealander of the Year for 1985 for his conduct during the trial of the French secret service agents. Davison headed the government inquiry (1994–1997) into certain matters related to overseas company taxation, popularly known as the

Winebox Inquiry The Winebox Inquiry was an inquiry undertaken in New Zealand to investigate claims of corruption and incompetence in the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Inland Revenue Department (IRD). The full name of the investigation was the Commission of In ...

. This involved allegations against a number of parties including the

merchant bank A merchant bank is historically a bank dealing in commercial loans and investment. In modern British usage it is the same as an investment bank. Merchant banks were the first modern banks and evolved from medieval merchants who traded in commodi ...

Fay Richwhite Fay, Richwhite & Company is the investment vehicle of Switzerland-based New Zealand merchant bankers Sir Michael Fay and David Richwhite. The firm was the prime focus of the "Winebox Inquiry" which dealt with, among other things, tax-avoidance ...

. He also presided over the 1994 inquiry into the

Family court Family courts were originally created to be a Court of Equity convened to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, including custody of children, and could disregard certain legal requirements as long as the petitioner/plaintif ...

proceedings involving the Bristol family, which resulted in a number of changes being made to New Zealand's child protection legislation. Davison 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 ...

on 16 June 1963. In the 1975 Queen's Birthday Honours, Davison was appointed a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

, for public services. He was appointed a

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

on 11 February 1978, just after his appointment as Chief Justice. Also in 1978, he was appointed to the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

. He 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 ...

in 1977, and 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 1990.

Death

Davison died on 2 July 2015. Jacqueline, Lady Davison, died 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 ...

on 16 November 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davison, Ronald 1920 births 2015 deaths People from Kaponga New Zealand military personnel of World War II University of Auckland alumni 20th-century New Zealand judges Chief justices of New Zealand High Court of New Zealand judges Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council New Zealand King's Counsel New Zealand Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George New Zealand members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom

Early life and family

Career

Death

See also

References