John Reed (judge)

Reed in 1907

Sir John Ranken Reed CBE KC (26 December 1864 – 22 April 1955) was a New Zealand judge.

Reed was the eldest son of George McCullagh Reed, a newspaper proprietor, and Jessie Chalmers Reed (née Ranken). He was born in Ipswich, Queensland, where his father had moved to in 1861 to be the Presbyterian minister.[1] His brother was Vernon Reed.[2] He received his education at Auckland Grammar School, Dunedin High School, Victoria College, Jersey, and Clare College in the University of Cambridge, England.[3] He served his articles with Devore and Cooper in Auckland and was admitted as a barrister in June 1887. He had a practice in the Bay of Islands and relocated to Auckland in early 1896, where he joined William Thorne.[3] In 1898, Reed set up his own practice in Auckland.[4] In 1900, he took James Every Stephen Bailey into a partnership under the banner of Reed and Bailey.[4] In 1912, Roland Perceval Towle joined the partnership, and their practice was known as Reed, Bailey and Towle.[4] Bailey retired at the end of 1919 and two of the staff became partners instead, and the practice was then known as Reed, Towle, Hellaby, and Cooper.[5]

For a time, Reed was president of the Auckland Law Society.[6] Outside of the judiciary, Reed had a strong interest in military matters and in 1911, he was appointed Judge Advocate General of the New Zealand Territorial Forces.[6] In November 1912, Reed was appointed King's Counsel.[6] In February 1921, he was appointed judge to the Supreme Court; this was the first of two appointments triggered by the retirement of Justice Chapman and the resignation of Justice Cooper.[7][8] He retired from his practice at the end of February 1921 but the name did not change as Reed's son, Mervyn Ranken Reed, carried on as one of the partners.[9] Reed was also a prominent Freemason,[6] serving as the Auckland district grand master for seven years.[10]

Reed was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (military division) in the 1919 King's Birthday Honours.[11] In 1935, he was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.[12] He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 1936 King's Birthday Honours.[13]

  1. ^ Rudman, Brian C. "George McCullagh Reed". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  2. ^ Scholefield, Guy, ed. (1940). A Dictionary of New Zealand Biography : M–Addenda (PDF). Vol. II. Wellington: Department of Internal Affairs. pp. 210f. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  3. ^ a b Cyclopedia Company Limited (1902). "Barristers and Solicitors". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Auckland Provincial District. Christchurch: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  4. ^ a b c "King's Counsel". Auckland Star. Vol. XLIII, no. 267. 7 November 1912. p. 5. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  5. ^ "Page 8 Advertisements Column 2". Observer. Vol. XL, no. 25. 21 February 1920. p. 8. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d "Five New Appointments". The Evening Post. Vol. LXXXIV, no. 112. 7 November 1912. p. 8. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  7. ^ "Supreme Court Judges". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LVIII, no. 17696. 3 February 1921. p. 6. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  8. ^ "Mr Justice Reed". The Northern Advocate. 3 February 1921. p. 2. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  9. ^ "Legal Notices". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LVIII, no. 17722. 5 March 1921. p. 5. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  10. ^ "Judge to retire". New Zealand Herald. 16 September 1936. p. 15. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  11. ^ The Edinburgh Gazette: (Supplement) no. 34296. p. 3996. 23 June 1936. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  12. ^ "Official jubilee medals". Evening Post. Vol. CXIX, no. 105. 6 May 1935. p. 4. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  13. ^ "No. 34296". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 June 1936. p. 3996.