Leading from the front issuu

A SHARED DEEP
COMMITMENT TO
SOCIAL JUSTICE
by jocelyn robson,
john robson’s daughter.
”The modern restorative
justice movement is perhaps
one of the most important
social movements of our time.”
professor chris marshall,
author of all things considered.
I first met Pat Magill some years ago at Napier airport.
I had contacted him because I was curious to learn
more about his friendship with my father — and as I left
the plane and walked across the tarmac that day, Pat
at once came up to me. He had recognised the family
likeness, he said. It was a good beginning, as far as I
was concerned! I knew he was an admirer of Dad’s and
though they come from very different backgrounds,
I soon understood that he and Pat had shared a deep
commitment to social justice.
My father had died a short time before. He had spent
most of his schooldays in Hawke’s Bay and had a strong
attachment to the place, the landscape, bush and native
birds. Pat told me stories of Dad’s later visits to Napier,
and the speeches he gave there as Secretary for Justice
in the 1960s. The one that sticks in my mind and also
seemed to resonate with Pat was when Dad told his audience
that Napier, despite its social, economic and cultural
difficulties was ‘small enough to learn about itself.’
Pat took this to heart. He has been ready to seize all
those learning opportunities ever since and I know how
much he is valued and loved by local people. He is a key
mover behind the promotion of The John Robson Collection
in the Napier Public Library and he remains an ardent
supporter of this community initiative. The items in
the collection are now devoted to the study and pursuit
of Restorative Justice and I know my Dad would have
been very proud of that.
I’ve stayed in touch with Pat since our first meeting
and though I live in London, I’m often back in New Zealand
and am always pleased to see him again. We talk
mostly about new developments in the field of crime
and punishment (not all of them good!) and I’m always
amazed by his endless energy. He is unfailingly kind and
practical. I know he campaigns tirelessly to help people
in need and over the years, I have come to love and admire
him. He’s a treasure, a good egg, and in my book,
a bit of a hero!
Image above: Napier Public LIbrary in Herschell St where The
John Robson Collection is held.
THE DRIVER
FOR A UNIQUE
RESOURCE
by emma shepheard-
walwyn
napier libraries
Pat Magill has been one of the stalwarts of the
restorative justice movement in Napier. His endless
enthusiasm and passion for the project have
been evident in everything Pat does, in the relationships
he continues to build, and in his tireless
advocacy for the underprivileged.
Pat was one of the driving forces behind the
establishment of the John Robson Collection in
Napier Libraries, in association with the Napier
Pilot City Trust / Tō Mātou Taiwhenua Kōkiri o Mataruahau.
The collection focuses on restorative
practice in New Zealand, including items relating
to criminal, social and restorative justice.
Having being developed as a community initiative
by Napier Pilot City Trust, it relies on donations
from the community and around the world.
Napier Libraries has been proud to work with Pat
and the Napier Pilot City Trust in building and
continuing to develop this unique resource for the
Napier community.
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Napier Pilot City Trust – for a kinder, fairer city