Augusta Wallace (judge)

Dame Augusta Wallace DBE (11 October 1929 - 12 April 2008) was the first woman in New Zealand to be appointed as a judge to the District Court in 1976; she served for eighteen years.

Augusta Wallace (née Dunlop) was educated in Howick School, Epsom Girls' Grammar School, and Auckland University where she graduated and was admitted to the bar in 1954. She practiced on her own account as a sole practitioner in Papatoetoe for 11 years. In September 1975 she became the first woman to become a judge when she was appointed to the District Court bench. [ [http://www.hrc.co.nz/index.php?p=13814 Human Rights Commission] ] [ [http://www.lawyers.org.nz/wcg/articlefiles/histofwmn.htm New Zealand Women in the legal profession] ] She sat at the Auckland District Court for nearly fifteen years, transferred to the Otahuhu District Court for a short time, and finally was based at the Papakura District Court. ["Obituary" in Dominion Post, 17 April 2008, page B7]

Wallace had a long record of community service and extensive judicial experience. In 1990 Wallace was at the centre of a review into courtroom security after she was attacked by a 16 year-old with a machete while serving at the Otahuhu District Court and was seriously injured.

In 1993 she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. In 1996 she was appointed as a member of the Waitangi Tribunal by then Minister of Maori Affairs, the Hon John Luxton. [ [http://executive.govt.nz/93-96/minister/luxton/jln1609.htm Appointment to the Waitangi Tribunal] ]

Dame Augusta was Patron to a number of community organisations including Age Concern New Zealand, the Hope Foundation, and Victim Support. She was also a Trustee of the Child Development Foundation of New Zealand. [ [http://www.ageconcern.org.nz/?/article&id=0000000179 Age Concern New Zealand mourns patron] ]

She was born in Auckland, and died in Manukau, Auckland on 12 April 2008, aged 78, following a long illness. [ [http://www.stuff.co.nz/4479422a11.html The Death of Dame Augusta Wallace] ] She married Neville Alan Wallace, a career Army officer, in 1955; he retired from the Army in the 1970s, and qualified as a lawyer in 1976. ["Obituary" in Dominion Post, 17 April 2008, page B7] They are survived by a daughter and five grandchildren.

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