Sir Gaven John Donne KBE (8 May 1914 – 28 March 2010) was a New Zealand-born former Chief Justice of Samoa, Niue, the Cook Islands, Nauru and Tuvalu.
Sir Gaven Donne | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 1st Queen's Representative to the Cook Islands | |
| In office 1982 – 18 September 1984 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Tom Davis Geoffrey Henry |
| Preceded by | Office Established |
| Succeeded by | Sir Graham Speight (Acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gaven John Donne 8 May 1914 Christchurch, New Zealand |
| Died | 28 March 2010 (aged 95) |
Biography
editDonne was born in Christchurch and educated at Palmerston North Boys' High School, Hastings Boys' High School, Victoria University College and Auckland University College.[1] He was admitted to the bar in 1938, and became a magistrate in 1958.[1]
Donne had a long legal career in the Pacific. In 1969 he was seconded to the Supreme Court of Samoa, and in 1972 he was appointed Chief Justice. In 1975 he was appointed Chief Justice of the Cook Islands and Niue.[2] In 1978, he presided over the electoral petitions resulting from the 1978 Cook Islands election, which saw the Cook Islands Party of Albert Henry removed from power for electoral fraud.[3]
In 1982 he was appointed as the first Queen's Representative to the Cook Islands.[2] After completing his term, he became Chief Justice of Nauru and Tuvalu in 1985.[2]
Donne retired from the bench in 2001 making him one of the longest serving judges in the Southern Hemisphere.[4]
Honours and awards
editIn 1977, Donne was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal.[5] In the 1979 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b "Judge who toppled a government dies". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
- ^ a b c "Sir Gaven Donne KBE". Scoop Media. 30 March 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
- ^ "Hosking v Browne (1978) CKHC 1; Misc 21-30, 32.1978". 24 July 1978. Archived from the original on 26 September 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
- ^ "Sir Gaven John Donne death notice". The New Zealand Herald. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
- ^ Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 124. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.
- ^ "No. 47725". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 30 December 1978. p. 39.
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