Graham Speight

[1] He married Elizabeth Muriel Booth in 1947, and the couple went on to have two children.[1] Speight served as the Crown solicitor in Auckland from 1959 until 1966, when was appointed a High Court judge.[1] He later served as the Chief Justice of the Cook Islands and the President of the Court of Appeal of Fiji from 1982 until 1988.[1] In 1976 the Auckland Star quoted Justice Graham Speight as saying, in relation to the immigration of Pacific Islanders to New Zealand, ‘one must have the gravest anxiety as to the placement of these unsophisticated people in an environment which they are totally unfitted to cope with.’ Which has now come to be seen as perpetuating anti-Pacific Islander racism and xenophobia during the period of the dawn raids.[2] In the 1983 New Year Honours, Speight was appointed a Knight Bachelor, in recognition of his service as a High Court judge.
Queen’s Representative to the Cook IslandsElizabeth IITom DavisGaven DonneTangaroa TangaroaAucklandAlma materAuckland University CollegeHigh CourtQueen's RepresentativeCook IslandsAuckland Grammar Schoollaw degreeNew Zealand ArmyChief JusticePresident of the Court of Appeal1983 New Year HonoursKnight BachelorOtago Daily TimesThe London GazetteSovereign's representatives in the Cook IslandsApenera ShortLaurence GreigFrederick GoodwinTom Marsters