David Tompkins

Sir David Lance Tompkins (26 July 1929 – 1 July 2023) was a New Zealand lawyer and jurist. He served as a judge of the High Court of New Zealand from 1983 to 1997 and on the benches of the Courts of Appeal of Tonga and Fiji. He was chancellor of the University of Waikato between 1981 and 1985.

Early life and family Tompkins was born in Hamilton on 26 July 1929, the son of Arthur Lance Tompkins and Marjorie Rees Tompkins (née Manning). His maternal grandfather was Arthur Edwards Manning He was educated at Southwell School in Hamilton from 1939 to 1942, and King's College, Auckland from 1943 to 1946. He went on to study law at Auckland University College, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1952.

In 1956, Tompkins married Erica Lya Felicity Faris, and the couple had three children, including Arthur Tompkins, who was appointed a district court judge in 1997.

Honours and awards In 1977, Tompkins was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal, and in 1990 he received the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.

In 1986, Tompkins was conferred with an honorary doctorate by the University of Waikato.

Later life Tompkins' wife, Felicity, Lady Tompkins, died in 2019.

Tompkins died on 1 July 2023, aged 93.