Eddie Durie Explained

Honorific-Prefix:The Honourable Sir
Eddie Durie
Order:Justice of the High Court
Term Start:1998
Term End:2004
Birth Name:Edward Taihakurei Durie
Birth Date:1940 1, df=yes
Spouse:Donna Hall
Children:1

Sir Edward Taihakurei Durie (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.

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.

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, 660km (410miles) 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]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Production Shed – Justice Durie. productionshed.tv. 2016-04-19. 25 April 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160425222500/http://www.productionshed.tv/home/in-the-shed/justice-durie. live.
  2. Web site: Complete list of all Judges – Māori Land Court. justice.govt.nz. 2016-04-19. 4 May 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160504001239/http://www.justice.govt.nz/courts/maori-land-court/about-us/our-judges-1/past-mlc-judges. live.
  3. Web site: New Zealand Law Society . 19 May 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100522101239/http://www.lawsociety.org.nz/publications_and_submissions/lawtalk/2009_issues/law_talk,_issue_726/justice_durie_heads_foreshore,_seabed_review . 22 May 2010 . dead .
  4. Web site: Waatea News Podcasts . 2016-04-19 . 26 January 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170126050948/https://secure.zeald.com/uma/play_podcast?podlink=NDIxOTk=&__utma=80002577.2052646691.1459911413.1461028953.1461066135.4&__utmb=80002577.3.9.1461066140927&__utmc=80002577&__utmx=-&__utmz=80002577.1461066135.4.2.utmcsr=google%7Cutmccn=(organic)%7Cutmcmd=organic%7Cutmctr=(not%2520provided)&__utmv=-&__utmk=19464497 . dead .
  5. Book: Taylor . Alister . Coddington . Deborah . Alister Taylor . Deborah Coddington . Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand . 1994 . New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa . Auckland . 0-908578-34-2 . 129.
  6. Web site: New Year honours list 2008 . 31 December 2007 . Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet . 31 October 2019 . 22 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210422231506/https://dpmc.govt.nz/publications/new-year-honours-list-2008 . live .
  7. Web site: Special honours list 1 August 2009 . 5 April 2011 . Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet . 31 October 2019 . 14 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200814051643/https://dpmc.govt.nz/publications/special-honours-list-1-august-2009 . live .
  8. Web site: Honorary graduates and Hunter fellowships . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200325053937/https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/about/our-story/history/honorary-graduates . 25 March 2020 . 11 November 2023 . wgtn.ac.nz . Victoria University of Wellington . en.
  9. Web site: 10 November 2009 . Te Aute leaders 1st XV celebrated . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20210526042200/https://www.massey.ac.nz/about-massey/news/article.cfm?mnarticle_uuid=DD489786-96BF-57FE-A0F5-8E9170A9FB0D . 26 May 2021 . 2021-05-26 . massey.ac.nz . Massey University . en-NZ.
  10. Web site: Honorary Doctors of the University of Waikato . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210526042200/https://calendar.waikato.ac.nz/staff-and-honours/honorary-doctors . 26 May 2021 . 2021-05-26 . Calendar: University of Waikato.
  11. Web site: Durie . Mason . Durie . Meihana . Rangitāne – 20th and 21st centuries: survival and adaptation . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200815084748/https://teara.govt.nz/en/rangitane/page-3 . 15 August 2020 . 3 June 2020 . . Mason Durie (psychiatrist).
  12. News: NZ judge's baby girl abducted. News 24. 14 April 2002. 1 March 2014. 5 March 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140305200806/http://www.news24.com/xArchive/Archive/NZ-judges-baby-girl-abducted-20020414. live.
  13. News: Baby Kahu Found Safe And Well . . 21 April 2002 . 1 March 2014 . 8 March 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140308201207/http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE0204/S00050.htm . live .
  14. News: Kidnapper set for freedom as victim turns eight . . 1 August 2009 . 1 March 2014 . 1 March 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140301174122/http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/2709776/Kidnapper-set-for-freedom-as-victim-turns-eight . live .
  15. News: Parents of kidnapped baby Kahu angry over TV drama . . 29 July 2010 . 1 March 2014 . 5 March 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140305202626/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10661979 . live .

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