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. [8] [9] 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. [10] 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". [11]
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. [12] 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, [13] 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. [14]
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. [15]
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. [16] 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. [17]
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. [18]
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. [19] 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. [20] [21]