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 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.British Parliamentary Papers. Colonies: New Zealand, pages 196 & 197 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 in 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.WELLINGTON INDEPENDENT, VOLUME VIII, ISSUE 807, 6 JULY 1853, PAGE 3 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.WELLINGTON INDEPENDENT, VOLUME XVI, ISSUE 1598, 9 JULY 1861, PAGE 5

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.NEW ZEALANDER, VOLUME XV, ISSUE 1382, 16 JULY 1859, PAGE 2

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.OTAGO DAILY TIMES, ISSUE 1278, 1 FEBRUARY 1866, PAGE 5 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.MARLBOROUGH PRESS, VOLUME XIV, ISSUE 835, 15 JANUARY 1873, PAGE 2

Lists of sheriffs

New Ulster and New Munster SheriffShrievaltyOfficeAssumed officeLeft officeJames CoatesNew ZealandAucklandJuly 1841January 1842Thomas BeckhamNorth New UlsterRussellJanuary 1842March 1844James CoatesCentral New UlsterAucklandJanuary 1842September 1843Michael MurphySouthern New UlsterWellingtonJanuary 1842January 1843Henry St. HillSouthern New UlsterWellingtonJanuary 18431853Alexander McDonald North New MunsterNelsonMarch 1843October 1843Percival BerreyCentral New UlsterAucklandSeptember 18431853F. MarshallNorth New MunsterNelsonDecember 1843April 1845Joseph DixonNorth New UlsterRussellMarch 1844February 1845Donald SinclairNorth New MunsterNelsonApril 1845February 1848John TinlineNorth New MunsterNelsonFebruary 1848December 1852Alfred Rowland Chetham-StrodeSouth New MunsterDunedinAugust 18501853Edward WrightCentral New MunsterLytteltonApril 1851July 1853

Auckland Sheriffs

SheriffShrievaltyAssumed officeLeft office Thomas BeckhamAuckland1853January 1855Loughlin O'BrienAucklandJanuary 1855March 1865Henry Colin BalneavisAucklandMarch 1865August 1876Major Edward Lister GreenAucklandAugust 1876February 1877Colonel Theodore HaultainAucklandFebruary 1877August 1878Edward WillcocksAucklandAugust 1878October 1880Hudson WilliamsonAucklandOctober 1880Major Edward Lister GreenAucklandNovember 1882April 1887Henry Clinton Salkeld BaddeleyAucklandJuly 1887May 1888Major Frederick John William GascoyneAucklandSeptember 1888June 1891C. J. HewlettAuckland

Deputies

DeputyShrievaltyAssumed officeLeft office Hudson WilliamsonAucklandOctober 1880George William BasleyAucklandOctober 1880

Taranaki TitleSheriffShrievaltyAssumed officeLeft office SheriffJosiah FlightNew Plymouth1853April 1868DeputySamuel Popham KingNew PlymouthAugust 1859DeputyW. M. Crompton New PlymouthAugust 1866SheriffCharles Douglas WhitcombeNew PlymouthAugust 1878SheriffCharles Edward RawsonNew PlymouthAugust 1878SheriffA. H. HolmesNew PlymouthMarch 1897SheriffC. A. WrayCarlyleFebruary 1877

Hawke's Bay SheriffShrievaltyAssumed officeLeft office Henry Robert RussellNapierOctober 1857G. S. CooperNapier1866E. L. GreenNapierNovember 1866John Thomas TyleeNapierAugust 1878Duncan GuyNapierAugust 1878E. C. CuttenNapier

Wellington Sheriffs SheriffShrievaltyAssumed officeLeft office Henry St. HillWellington1853May 1854William FoxWellingtonMay 18541855Henry St. HillWellington1855January 1864Henry Shafto HarrisonWanganuiJuly 1857July 1861Herbert Samuel WardellWairarapaOctober 1863April 1885Thomas HarperWanganuiJuly 1861November 1870Charles Dudley WardWellingtonJanuary 1864January 1866James Coutts CrawfordWellingtonJanuary 1866July 1878Walter Lawry BullerWanganuiJanuary 1871July 1873Ebenezer BakerWellingtonAugust 1878Alexander Sutherland AllanWellingtonAugust 1878Ebenezer BakerWellingtonJuly 1891L. CooperWellingtonJuly 1891Walter A. HawkinsWellingtonJanuary 1914E. RawsonWairarapaM. FoleyWairarapaJames MillerWairarapaDecember 1921James Theophilus BishopWairarapaDecember 1921

Deputies

DeputyShrievaltyAssumed officeLeft office Deputy D. S. DurieWanganuiWalter A. HawkinsWellington1894December 1907Arthur StubbsWellingtonDecember 1907

Nelson Sheriffs

SheriffShrievaltyAssumed officeLeft officeBenjamin WalmsleyNelsonMarch 1853January 1862Maxwell BuryNelsonNovember 1861April 1863William WellsNelsonApril 1863May 1863Benjamin WalmsleyNelsonMay 1863February 1870Joseph GilesWestland NorthApril 1868January 1876Thomas BrunnerNelsonFebruary 1870February 1872Lowther BroadNelsonFebruary 1872December 1875Charles BroadWestland NorthJanuary 1876William Horton RevellWestland NorthJohn TurnbullNelsonNovember 1882Alfred GreenfieldNelsonNovember 1882Wilson HeapsNelson1903March 1924Frank MitchellNelsonJune 1924Charles William CarverNelson

Deputies

DeputyShrievaltyAssumed officeLeft office Alfred GreenfieldNelsonFebruary 1863Deputy Charles BroadReeftonWilson HeapsNelson19011903Frank MitchellNelson1922

Marlborough SheriffShrievaltyAssumed officeLeft officeThomas William DownesPicton November 1861October 1866Dr Stephen Lunn MullerBlenheim July 1866February 1872Deputy Joshua GreenPictonMay 1871William Henry EyesBlenheim February 1872May 1873Cyrus GoulterBlenheim May 1873January 1879

Canterbury Sheriffs

SheriffShrievaltyAssumed officeLeft officeCharles SimeonLyttelton November 1853August 1855Henry TancredLytteltonAugust 1855May 1856Charles Christopher BowenLytteltonMay 1856December 1856John HallLytteltonDecember 1856January 1862Alexander BackChristchurchNovember 1861January 1878Frederick de Carteret MaletChristchurchAugust 1878A. R. BlosamChristchurchNovember 1882Alexander LeanChristchurchNovember 1882Richmond BeethamTimaru

Westland Westland started off as a semi-autonomous area of Canterbury and then directly administered by the central government, but did get independence for a short time in the mid 1870s as Westland Province. Grey County to the north was administered by Nelson Province.

SheriffShrievaltyAssumed officeLeft officeGeorge Samuel SaleWestland, Canterbury ProvinceNovember 1865September 1866Gerard George FitzgeraldWestland CountySeptember 1866February 1878William Alexander SpenceWestland CountyAugust 1878Alfred Hassal KingWestland CountyAugust 1878Charles William CarverWestland County19251927

Deputies

DeputyShrievaltyAssumed officeLeft office Jas. DavisChristchurchDecember 1879Andrew E. BloxamChristchurchDecember 1879

Otago SheriffShrievaltyAssumed officeLeft office Alfred Rowland Chetham-StrodeDunedin1853June 1857John GilliesDunedinJune 1857June 1863Robert Henry Forman DunedinJune 1863January 1866Alfred Rowland Chetham-StrodeDunedinJanuary 1866January 1868Alfred William SmithDunedinJanuary 1868May 1868Isaac Newton WattDunedinMay 1868August 1878Deputy William MurisonDunedinMay 1869April 1877Edward ffrancis Ward DunedinAugust 1878January 1879Colin McKenzie GordonDunedinJanuary 1879May 1901

Southland Sheriffs

SheriffShrievaltyAssumed officeLeft office Matthew PriceInvercargillFebruary 1863October 1865Henry McCullochInvercargillOctober 1865August 1878John TurnbullInvercargillJanuary 1875William StuartInvercargillAugust 1878June 1879Arthur C. HendersonInvercargillJune 1879December 1879Henry McCullochInvercargillDecember 1879April 1890Walter MartinInvercargillApril 1890J. R. ColterInvercargillMarch 1917Cecil John HewlettInvercargillMarch 1917

Deputies

DeputyShrievaltyAssumed officeLeft office John TurnbullInvercargillOctober 1883Harry Owens WilliamsInvercargillJanuary 1891December 1891John LillicrapInvercargillDecember 1891F. KnightInvercargill

References