Judge Campbell Savage was formally sworn in before the packed High Court at Dunedin yesterday, a courtroom in which he had been involved in countless jury trials.
The setting was the same, but the seat and robes were different as the former public defender Southern took his first judicial steps beside Chief District Court Judge Heemi Taumaunu.
Judge Savage was also supported by a large family contingent, including his wife, four children, his father and siblings.
He was admitted to the bar in Invercargill in 1989 after studying law at the University of Otago, and had lived and worked in Dunedin since 1997.
"I’ve always identified as a Southlander but I love this town," the new judge said.
Living in the hill suburbs for most of that time, he calculated he had walked up and down the steep Stuart St more than 3000 times.
He would leave behind a legal fraternity in which he was appreciated and esteemed.
Colleague Max Winders said the feelings about Judge Savage’s appointment were unanimous.
"[When a new judge is named] one hears mutterings or murmurings of the disappointed or overlooked. I’m happy to report on this occasion I’ve heard nothing of the sort," he said.
Judge Savage was known for his "acerbic" sense of humour but Mr Winders said his skill lay in knowing exactly when to deploy it.
Fellow lawyer Andrew Dawson quipped that Timaru court staff should prepare themselves for a wide range of dad jokes and puns.
He praised the judge for his "character, diligence and compassion" and made special mention of his mentoring of younger staff at the Public Defence Service.
Over his decades in criminal law, Judge Savage said he had learned to see the person and not simply the crime.
"You should not judge everybody by the deeds committed in their darkest hour.
"The vast majority of people have something very good in them that’s worth persevering with," he said.
His philosophy was simple: "It’s about the people. It always has been and it always will be."
