Master Anne Gambrill CNZM

The Bar Association notes the passing of Master Anne Gertrude Gambrill (née Shorland) CNZM (1934–2026) on 10 February 2026

Anne Gambrill was a New Zealand lawyer and judge. She was the 48th woman admitted to the New Zealand bar, the first woman to sit as a judicial officer of the High Court of New Zealand, and the seventh woman appointed to the New Zealand judiciary.

Anne Gambrill was born in Wellington and was the only child of the Honourable Mr Justice William Perry Shorland and Olive Shorland. She was educated at Samuel Marsden Collegiate School and Nga Tawa Diocesan School and studied law at Victoria University of Wellington and the University of Auckland. While a law student, she became the first woman law clerk at Russell McVeagh.

She was admitted as a solicitor in 1958 and as a barrister in 1960. In 1977, she was appointed as the first woman member of the Legal Aid Appeal Authority. In 1987, she was appointed a Master of the High Court of New Zealand (now Associate Judge), a role she held for 15 years. She retired from the judiciary in 2002 and continued to sit on occasion under an Acting Warrant until 2004.

In addition to her judicial work, Anne Gambrill served on a number of statutory and community bodies.

In 2003, Anne Gambrill was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the High Court. She is survived by her three children, William, Richard, and Elizabeth, and five granddaughters.

The Chief Justice, the Rt Hon Dame Helen Winkelmann, today paid tribute on behalf of New Zealand’s judiciary to Master Gambrill. Read more here