Sheriffs in New Zealand
# Sheriffs in New Zealand

Sheriffs in New Zealand are officers of the Superior Courts and function as the executive arm of these courts. They are responsible for serving court processes like summonses and subpoenas in the same way that Bailiffs serve the court processes of the District Court of New Zealand. They play an important role in the execution of court orders of the High Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of New Zealand. Sheriffs are forbidden from acting as barristers, solicitors, or acting as agent of a law firm while employed in the role of Sheriff.

Sheriffs in New Zealand have had various different roles and responsibilities in different eras of the country and today Sheriffs have a dramatically diminished role compared to the past.

## Today

Today the role of Sheriff and court Registrar are a dual position where the role of sheriff is automatically given to anyone who has gained the position of Registrar, as the Senior Courts Act 2016 states that each "Registrar is also a Sheriff for New Zealand". Deputy Registrars and other officials may also be appointed as Deputy Sheriffs to help and assist Sheriffs.

Sheriffs have the powers to serve the court such as summonses, to enforce the orders of the court and the power to arrest a person in accordance with an order of the High Court. Sheriffs can ask Deputy Sheriffs, Bailiffs, any Sheriff's officers that they employ to help them in their duties, however in practice, the police often carry out the functions of sheriffs on their behalf.

The duties of Sheriffs can extend from selling properties owned by indebted people on the behalf of the High Court (like a like an apartment block) or performing constitutionally required ceremonial duties like escorting the Chief Justice when they are opening a new session of the New Zealand Parliament.

## History

At the beginning of New Zealand's colonial history, sheriffs were appointed by the governor to enforce orders of the court, starting with Sheriff James Coates, who was appointed by Governor William Hobson to be the "Sheriff of the Colony of New Zealand and its Dependencies" in July 1841. Sheriffs at this time had the responsibility of upholding capital punishments by finding a willing executioner and organising the execution event, as was first overseen by Coates in 1842. After Coates was joined by other individuals appointed as sheriff in 1842, he was alternatively referred to as the "High Sheriff" in order to show his seniority compared to the other "Sub-Sheriffs".

Further, between 1840 and 1853 they had the additional responsibility of building and running local gaols (jails) and hire gaolers (jailers) to manage the prisoners. The underfunded and overcrowded gaols were of such poor condition that responsibility for running these gaols were handed over to the recently established provincial governments in 1853. For a period of time the responsibility for funding the local sheriff's offices was also handed over to the various provincial governments throughout the country, although outlaw James McKenzie was still able escape from Lyttelton Gaol on at least two occasions due to the poor condition of the gaol in 1855.

Alexander McDonald resigned from the job of sheriff of Nelson in 1843 after only a few months after he received a letter from the Colonial Secretary reminding him that his job was to conduct the business of the courts and to not organise public meetings and engage in other endeavours that were not and the job description.

After 1853, with the signing of the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, sheriffs also acted as the returning officers in both provincial and national elections. In July 1861, Sheriff Shafto Harrison created controversy when he was elected to the Wellington Provincial Government while also being employed as the Sheriff of Wanganui who had electoral overseeing duties.

To help with these increased duties, a number of sheriffs in 1859 were given the assistance of a deputy sheriff to help them complete matters of the sheriff's office.

In 1866 there was considerable scandal when the former sheriff of Otago, Robert Henry Forman, was arrested on board a ship leaving for Sydney shortly after he resigned and was charged with unlawfully taking money for his own use. Further scandal was created when he was granted a discharge without conviction. Further scandal came in 1872 with the appointment of William Henry Eyes as sheriff of Marlborough, who was a convicted rapist and got caught engaging in adultery not long after he became sheriff.

## Lists of sheriffs

### New Ulster and New Munster

| Sheriff | Shrievalty | Office | Assumed office | Left office |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| James Coates | New Zealand | Auckland | July 1841 | January 1842 |
| Thomas Beckham | North New Ulster | Russell | January 1842 | March 1844 |
| James Coates | Central New Ulster | Auckland | January 1842 | September 1843 |
| Michael Murphy | Southern New Ulster | Wellington | January 1842 | January 1843 |
| Henry St. Hill | Southern New Ulster | Wellington | January 1843 | 1853 |
| Alexander McDonald | North New Munster | Nelson | March 1843 | October 1843 |
| Percival Berrey | Central New Ulster | Auckland | September 1843 | 1853 |
| F. Marshall | North New Munster | Nelson | December 1843 | April 1845 |
| Joseph Dixon | North New Ulster | Russell | March 1844 | February 1845 |
| Donald Sinclair | North New Munster | Nelson | April 1845 | February 1848 |
| John Tinline | North New Munster | Nelson | February 1848 | December 1852 |
| Alfred Rowland Chetham-Strode | South New Munster | Dunedin | August 1850 | 1853 |
| Edward Wright | Central New Munster | Lyttelton | April 1851 | July 1853 |

### Auckland

| Sheriff | Shrievalty | Assumed office | Left office |
| - | - | - | - |
| Thomas Beckham | Auckland | 1853 | January 1855 |
| Loughlin O'Brien | Auckland | January 1855 | March 1865 |
| Henry Colin Balneavis | Auckland | March 1865 | August 1876 |

### Taranaki

| Tilte | Sheriff | Shrievalty | Assumed office | Left office |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Sheriff | Josiah Flight | New Plymouth | 1853 | April 1868 |
| Deputy | Samuel Popham King | New Plymouth | August 1859 | |

### Hawke's Bay

| Sheriff | Shrievalty | Assumed office | Left office |
| - | - | - | - |
| Henry Robert Russell | Napier | October 1857 | |

### Wellington

| Sheriff | Shrievalty | Assumed office | Left office |
| - | - | - | - |
| Henry St. Hill | Wellington | 1853 | May 1854 |
| William Fox | Wellington | May 1854 | 1855 |
| Henry St. Hill | Wellington | 1855 | January 1864 |
| Henry Shafto Harrison | Wanganui | July 1857 | July 1861 |
| Herbert Samuel Wardell | Wairarapa | October 1863 | April 1885 |
| Thomas Harper | Wanganui | July 1861 | November 1870 |
| Charles Dudley Ward | Wellington | January 1864 | January 1866 |
| James Coutts Crawford | Wellington | January 1866 | July 1878 |
| Walter Lawry Buller | Wanganui | January 1871 | July 1873 |

### Nelson

| Sheriff | Shrievalty | Assumed office | Left office |
| - | - | - | - |
| Benjamin Walmsley | Nelson | March 1853 | January 1862 |
| Maxwell Bury | Nelson | November 1861 | April 1863 |
| William Wells | Nelson | April 1863 | May 1863 |
| Benjamin Walmsley | Nelson | May 1863 | February 1870 |
| Joseph Giles | Westland North | April 1868 | January 1876 |
| Thomas Brunner | Nelson | February 1870 | February 1872 |
| Lowther Broad | Nelson | February 1872 | December 1875 |

### Marlborough

| Sheriff | Shrievalty | Assumed office | Left office |
| - | - | - | - |
| Thomas William Downes | Picton | November 1861 | October 1866 |
| Dr Stephen Lunn Muller | Blenheim | July 1866 | February 1872 |
| William Henry Eyes | Blenheim | February 1872 | May 1873 |
| Cyrus Goulter | Blenheim | May 1873 | January 1879 |

### Canterbury

| Sheriff | Shrievalty | Assumed office | Left office |
| - | - | - | - |
| Charles Simeon | Lyttelton | November 1853 | August 1855 |
| Henry Tancred | Lyttelton | August 1855 | May 1856 |
| Charles Christopher Bowen | Lyttelton | May 1856 | December 1856 |
| John Hall | Lyttelton | December 1856 | January 1862 |
| Alexander Back | Christchurch | November 1861 | January 1878 |
| George Samuel Sale | Westland | November 1865 | September 1866 |
| Gerard George Fitzgerald | Westland County | September 1866 | February 1878 |

### Otago

| Sheriff | Shrievalty | Assumed office | Left office |
| - | - | - | - |
| Alfred Rowland Chetham-Strode | Dunedin | 1853 | June 1857 |
| John Gillies | Dunedin | June 1857 | June 1863 |
| Robert Henry Forman | Dunedin | June 1863 | January 1866 |
| Alfred Rowland Chetham-Strode | Dunedin | January 1866 | January 1868 |
| Alfred William Smith | Dunedin | January 1868 | May 1868 |
| Isaac Newton Watt | Dunedin | May 1868 | August 1878 |

### Southland

| Sheriff | Shrievalty | Assumed office | Left office |
| - | - | - | - |
| Matthew Price | Invercargill | February 1863 | October 1865 |
| H. McCullock | Invercargill | October 1865 | |
