John Callan

John Bartholomew Callan (15 August 1882 – 12 February 1951) was a New Zealand judge. He was a Justice of the Supreme Court (now known as the High Court of New Zealand) (1935–51).

Early life Callan was the son of John Bartholomew Callan, a Dunedin lawyer and member of the New Zealand Legislative Council. The Callans had migrated from Ireland to Australia with the Gavan Duffy family and Callan was descended from Charles Gavan Duffy.

On the bench Callan was appointed a Justice in the Supreme Court in 1935 and went to Auckland as a resident Judge. As a Judge, apart from the normal case load, Justice Callan also undertook Government investigations on the Aliens Tribunal and on the leakage of information (both relevant to World War II). Callan also contributed on a wider stage. Apart from his ten years as Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Otago (1924–34), he was also a member of the Council of Legal Education. His Requiem Mass was celebrated by Liston at St Patrick's Cathedral and as his cortege left the cathedral, it passed through a guard of honour formed by boys from St Peter's College.