Former judge Sir Graham Speight dies

A former High Court judge died in Auckland last week. Sir Graham Davies Speight was 86 when he died at Eastcliffe Hospital on July 17.

Sir Graham was the Crown Solicitor in Auckland 1959-66 and was appointed a High Court judge in 1966.

He was Chief Justice of the Cook Islands and president of the Court of Appeal, Fiji, 1982-88.

Born in Auckland, on July 21, 1921, Sir Graham was educated at Newmarket School, Auckland Grammar School and Auckland University where he gained a law degree in 1942.

He served in the New Zealand Army 1942-46, and married Elizabeth Muriel Booth in 1947. The couple had a son and a daughter.

Sir Graham is survived by his wife and son, and five grandchildren.