Life’s work helping others, supporting wife
DUNEDINBORN lawyer and viceregal consort Peter Cartwright has been described as a fundamentally decent man who combined a love of the law with the interests of those around him.
Mr Cartwright, who was born in Dunedin in 1940, died earlier this year, after a long illness.
As husband to Dame Silvia Cartwright, who served as New Zealand’s 18th Governor-General from 2001 to 2006, he was often in the spotlight, either standing alongside his wife or filling in for her.
But he also carved out a significant legal career, beginning in Dunedin, which eventually led to his serving as chairman of the Indecent Publications Tribunal, the Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal and the Broadcasting Standards Authority, among other roles.
His abiding interest in human rights and the welfare of people with intellectual disabilities — beginning when he discovered he had an older brother in care — also led to a position on the boards of IHC New Zealand and the Donald Beasley Institute, which he later also chaired.
It was a career that was to earn him many plaudits, including, in 2006, becoming a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for public services and services to the community.
Later that year, he was also made a Companion of the Queen’s Service Order for community service, adding to a list that also included becoming a Commander of the Order of St John in 2001.
But Mr Cartwright was also a man who treasured his friendships and his family, as well as harbouring a love of cars throughout his life, Dame Silvia told the Otago Daily
Times.
The pair had been described as a ‘‘love match’’ and it was a relationship that would endure, as they marked 50 years of marriage just months before his death.
PETER John Cartwright was born in Dunedin, the son of James Patrick Cartwright and Gladys Josephine Cartwright, and was educated as a boarder at St Bede’s College in Christchurch, before studying law at the University of Otago from 1960.
His first love was medicine, but he lacked the necessary qualifications, and instead settled into life as a law student, winning the Jurisprudence prize before graduating with a bachelor of laws degree in 1965.
He worked as a branch solicitor to the thenState Advances Corporation for Otago and Southland for three years after graduating, but it was his later stint as a partner in Chapman Feenstra and Cartwright, based in Hamilton, that was a ‘‘highlight’’.
He met his future wife in 1967, when one of Dame Silvia’s employers at Ross & Dowling, Michael Hall — who happened to be Mr Cartwright’s best friend — introduced the pair.
They married in 1969, although the buildup was not without its challenges.
Mr Cartwright first had to navigate a ‘‘daunting’’ family lunch, which descended into crisis as Dame Silvia’s parents raced away to be with their other daughter, who was giving birth in Invercargill.
And the couple’s pending marriage also ruffled feathers for some within the Catholic Church, as Mr Cartwright was from a Catholic family while Dame Silvia was a Baptist.
It was only after ‘‘tense’’ negotiations with the Catholic Bishop that they were able to be married in the University of Otago’s Catholic Aquinas Chapel.
‘‘Given the difficulties . . . neither Peter nor I retained much enthusiasm for the Catholic church,’’ Dame Silvia recalled.
After marrying, they both pursued their respective law careers, and Dame Silvia become the first female chief district court judge in 1989, and the first woman appointed to the High Court in 1993.
For Mr Cartwright, that included joining the Accident Compensation Appeal Authority, which was to become almost his fulltime occupation — together with tribunal work — from the 1990s to 2015.
Then, beginning in 2001, Dame Silvia served as the 18th GovernorGeneral of New Zealand with Mr Cartwright alongside her at Government House.
He retained his career throughout, but filled in for Dame Silvia at times at functions, and made sure he was available for state visits any other appointments, she said.
‘‘He had the best of both worlds and loved every minute of his time there,’’ she said.
In 2006, at the end of her time at Government House, Dame Silvia was named as one of two international judges to sit on the Cambodia Tribunal.
The tribunal was appointed to consider charges against senior members of the Khmer Rouge, which was responsible for the deaths of up to two million people during the Cambodian genocide between 1975 and 1979.
Mr Cartwright divided his time between New Zealand and Cambodia, and while there attended the trials as an observer, including key moments such as testimony by Nuon Chea — the Khmer Rouge’s chief ideologist — and the verdicts.
Outside the trials, he ‘‘loved’’ life in Cambodia, made many friends and became ‘‘deeply involved’’ in helping those around him, Dame Silvia said.
That included buying motorcycles and other new equipment for tuk tuk drivers, and taking them to medical and dental appointments, to try to help their povertystricken lives, she said.
He also became involved in teaching English to dental students in the area.
It was a philanthropic trait that became a hallmark of Mr Cartwright’s life from a young age.
MR Cartwright was still at St Bede’s College when he discovered he had a brother, Gerard, in care, prompting his lifelong interest in the care of people with intellectual disabilities.
While studying there, he would bike from the college to Templeton to visit Gerard, and later, after his marriage to Dame Silvia and a move to Hamilton, the couple would always stop by for a visit while driving to Dunedin.
‘‘Peter sent him gifts and tried as best he could to establish some sort of family connection but it was very hard, given that Gerard had been institutionalised since he was very young.
‘‘When Gerard died, Peter was extremely concerned at the manner of his death, considering it to be medical misadventure, but Peter’s father was not keen to pursue any remedies.’’
Mr Cartwright was ‘‘deeply affected’’ by Gerard’s death, and his interest in the welfare of others with intellectual disabilities was to continue throughout his career.
‘‘When we lived at Government House, Peter and I hosted several functions for intellectually disabled groups. These were, to put it mildly, always a highlight.’’
Dame Silvia’s sister, Marie Keir, said his interest in the welfare of those around him extended to his wide circle of family and friends.
He was ‘‘always ready to help’’ his friends, including those from St Bede’s, to whom he remained close all his life.
Family also benefited, as they called on Mr Cartwright for advice on problems with housing, mortgages ‘‘and even the behaviour of certain younger members of the family, who would then receive a letter from Uncle Peter which made them very thoughtful’’.
‘‘He was always ready to help.’’
That did not mean Mr Cartwright was without flaws — he could be ‘‘volatile’’, leaving those around him in no doubt as to his views, and he was ‘‘truly terrible with technology’’, she said.
But he was also a lover of art, music and cars, and continued to enjoy being taken on a daily drive — whether to the nearby shopping centre or on longer excursions beyond Auckland — even as his health failed him.
And, as his health did fail, it was his family and friends who rallied to support him.
‘‘Our family was always amazed at how many friends he had . . . latterly these friends became caring group that looked after him and took him on holidays and outings, even when his physical condition declined.’’
But, above all else, his love for his wife endured until the end.
‘‘They had their moments, as we all do, and Peter was asked to give up more than most partners are expected to as Silvia moved from one position to another, and eventually to her ‘quiet retirement job in Cambodia’, as Peter put it.
‘‘He dearly loved Silvia. She could not have had a more compatible partner in many ways.’’
Or, as Dame Silvia put it:
‘‘His support for me was often at odds with his personal happiness. He hated my frequent absences but put up with them.
‘‘He was a loyal, loving husband, as well as a close friend to many.’’
Mr Cartwright died in Auckland on April 17, aged 78.
— Chris Morris