*Edition: Tues,29th June '10 - e-News Article from The Northland Age, Kaitaia* Thank You!

* Powhiri/Manuhiri photos supplied by Greg's Mum, Glenys Davis*  Thank You!

* Profile Photo - Thank You *supplied by Photographer - Kate Shuttleworth Reporter FOCUS Magazine and Northland Age | Phone 09 407 3286   |021 516 792 | Unit C, Hub Mall, 94 Kerikeri Rd, Kerikeri 0230

"My dream of an All Black career was gone and I couldn't get a job." All joking aside, he will have his sights set high in his role as a District Court judge, where he intends to make good use of his local knowledge. And his long-held commitment to bring his skills back to Northland has played a major role in shaping this career to date.

He was the first in his family to receive a tertiary education, but is just one of a very high-achieving set of siblings. He is the brother of former teacher/principal Kelvin, who was elected as a Labour list MP in 2008, and of Sergeant Pat Davis, currently employed as a youth justice co-ordinator with the police in Kaikohe. And his sister, Sonya Davis-Brooking, is a teacher in Moerewa.

Born in the Far North, educated at Kawakawa Primary School, Bay of Islands Intermediate and Bay of Islands College, Mr Davis' parents live in Kawakawa and many other family members also reside in the Far North. "Northland is my home," he said. "When I went away to train at university I always intended to be back in the North, and that's what's happened." He attributed his commitment to the region to his whanau and hapu, Ngati Manu and Ngati Karetu. "We were brought up in the Kawakawa/Karetu area, and that's where my heart and soul are," he said. "Both my Dad's parents come from Karetu and my wife's grandmother is from Karetu. Her father also has connections to the area, so we're well and truly tied to the North." And this was one of the most exciting times to be in the legal profession in Northland, with New Zealand's largest treaty claim before the Waitangi Tribunal.

"The law is something that I've always loved, and there are a lot of reasons people go to law school," he said. "There were a lot of us in my generation going to law school, wanting to right the wrongs of the past, and I always wanted to be doing that at home. "I think the phase that we're going through now, where Ngapuhi are having the opportunity to tell their historical story to the Waitangi Tribunal, and the efforts that are being made toward settling Ngapuhi's treaty claims, is some of the most exciting legal work that anyone could be involved in." It was an opportunity for important facts about history to be told afresh. "Ngapuhi say one of the important facts of history is that they never signed the Treaty of Waitangi. Ngapuhi signed te Tiriti o Waitangi," he said.

Mr Davis worked with the Maori Trust Office in Hamilton and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before periods with Rudd Watts and Stone, Henderson Reeves and Palmer Macauley. He has been a partner with his wife Tania Tetitaha at Tumanako Law in Kerikeri since 2004. Mr Davis is set to be one of the first District Court judges who was born and lives in the region to sit in the District Court at Kaikohe, court manager Julie Hooper saying there would be benefits in having a judge with local knowledge. "As we haven't had a resident judge I am not sure how it will go, but my gut feeling is that it has got to be a good thing," she said.

Mr Davis will be based in Auckland for six months, but his permanent chambers will be in Whangarei and Kaikohe.