11.00 am - By KRISTIN EDGE
Judicial history was made in Rotorua yesterday when lawyer Denise Clark was officially sworn in as a District Court judge on Tamatekapua Marae at Ohinemutu.
It was the first time a judge had been admitted to the bench in a ceremony held on a marae.
Chief District
Court Judge David Curruthers said the special sitting at Tamatekapua was a unique marriage of tikanga Maori (Maori customs) and the legal system.
After a powhiri outside the marae the crowd of about 300 moved inside for the official swearing in.
A large contingent from the Rotorua legal profession was present as were a number of Rotorua police officers.
Friends and relatives travelled from around the North Island to be part of the historic occasion, including a couple of buses filled with passengers from the Far North, with people from Pawarenga and Kohukohu.
Judge Curruthers said Judge Clark came to the bench with outstanding credentials having worked in a wide range of courts including the Youth Court.
Judge Clark, whose tribal affiliation is Ngapuhi, said she looked forward to a challenging future on the bench.
"I am confident I can rise to the challenge ... the community in Rotorua has given me the best apprenticeship I could have hoped for," she said.
"It's my hope to bring to the position an intimate insight into our people...an insight not from books or professors but from real life."
Judge Clark acknowledged her appointment was another Maori voice in the partnership between Maori and the Crown that was enshrined by the Treaty of Waitangi.
She said it was also an important step for Maori women.
Proud father Pomare Clark described how as a child his daughter always knew she wanted to be a lawyer.
"She didn't need any help. She knew what she wanted," said Mr Clark.
Judge Clark was admitted to the bar in 1985 and since 1997 she has been a partner for the Rotorua legal firm Chadwick Bidois.
Rotorua lawyer Murray McKechnie said Judge Clark did not have an enemy in the profession, which was a rare thing and something she could be proud of.
Mr McKechnie said Judge Clark's qualities of reliability, calmness and "unflappability" were ones she would utilise while on the bench.
Judge Clark will move with her 12-year-old son Natanahira to Hamilton where she will preside.
- DAILY POST (ROTORUA)
11.00 am - By KRISTIN EDGE
Judicial history was made in Rotorua yesterday when lawyer Denise Clark was officially sworn in as a District Court judge on Tamatekapua Marae at Ohinemutu.
It was the first time a judge had been admitted to the bench in a ceremony held on a marae.
Chief District
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