Frederick Morris Preston Brookfield

Frederick Morris Preston Brookfield (sometimes spelt Frederic) (26 April 1825 – 4 October 1906) was a judge at the Native Land Court of New Zealand and a prominent lawyer in early New Zealand. He was the younger brother of William Henry Brookfield, chaplain-in-ordinary to Queen Victoria, and brother in law to his wife the author Jane Octavia Brookfield.

Biography Brookfield was born in England in 1825 the third son of Charles Brookfield a notable Sheffield solicitor. He studied law under his eldest brother Charles Austin Brookfield in London, before going into practice there. In 1851 he emigrated to Auckland, New Zealand.

Brookfield's home in Onehunga (near the corner of Brookfield Ave and Onehunga Mall) was built in 1875 on the site of an earlier dwelling.

He had 4 sons and 4 daughters

Brookfield retired as Native Land Court judge in January 1885 and founded a practice with his eldest son, Frederic William Brookfield. The practice was named Brookfield and Son and was located in the Colonial Bank Buildings on Queen St.

In 1889, father and son notably brought a case before the mayor of Onehunga Michael Yates for slander, after the mayor allegedly accused them of "trying to ruin the town".