Ayson
p. 15 · Read in the full issue
Death Of Judge
Notable Cook Islands Administrator
MR. H. F. Ayson, formerly Resident Commissioner and Chief Judge in the Cook Islands, died at his home in Days Bay, Wellington, NZ, on Febru ary 1, at the age of 63.
Judge Ayson (as he was usually known) had a lengthy and distinguished career in the Cook Islands, with which he was associated for over 27 years. He administered the territory with wisdom and kindness, which particularly en deared him to the islanders.
Judge Ayson first went to the Cook Is lands in 1916, when he was appointed Judge of the High Court and Native Land Court at Rarotonga. In 1922 he was appointed Resident Commissioner and Chief Judge, which positions he held continuously, except for an absence of one year (during which he was attached to the Native Department), until near the end of 1943, when he retired owing to ill-health. The CMG was conferred on him in 1930. He is survived by his wife and two daughters, Mesdames T. N.
N. Rogers (Palmerston North) and K.
E. Francis (Whakatane).
Judge Ayson and Mrs. Ayson, photographed at a garden party in Rarotonga in 1939.