A gentleman lawyer with a weakness for chocolate

Neville Stanley Marquet

Lawyer b. September 11, 1927 d. November 8, 2021

Dunedin lawyer Neville Stanley Marquet was a diminutive man with a booming voice, an impeccable work ethic, and a gentleman’s demeanour.

Daughter Janet said he was always respectful and let his work do the talking.

‘‘His work was his mistress and a hard taskmaster. He loved working for people and helping people get great results.’’

Neville Marquet made a name for himself as a specialist planning lawyer, steering the Queenstown Lakes District Council through the pioneering days of the Resource Management Act.

But his impact was long felt as a civil lawyer with great empathy and a love of a courtroom debate.

After his death at the age of 94, earlier this month, the hard-working lawyer was buried with a copy of the submissions he made to the Privy Council in 1994.

He was rightly very proud of winning the case that he took on behalf of the employees of the Mosgiel Woollen Mills and the praise he later received from the lords who sat on the council, Janet said.

Marquet was born in Christchurch in 1927, arriving two months early. He was taken home in a shoebox, as he was so tiny. He was an only child but had a large and close family.

When he was 4 his father, a coach builder at Addington, was moved to work at the Dunedin Hillside workshop.

Marquet was ‘‘gutted’’ to miss out on fighting in World War II, which finished three days before his 18th birthday. He then studied law at Otago University.

‘‘He did a bit of research and looked at what lawyers ate and drove, and the same for accountants. He came to the conclusion that lawyers drove better cars and ate better. That is why he went into law,’’ his daughter said.

Marquet was admitted to the bar in 1954 and worked for the Public Trust for a few years.

He took two criminal cases, one in which a witness perjured themselves and another in which the defendant did, so chose to pursue civil law instead.

During his almost 60-year career, Marquet served as president of the Otago District Law Society in 1975, vicepresident of the NZ Law Society 1976-79, and sat on the NZLS disciplinary committee for 13 years (seven as the chairman).

He was twice invited to become a judge but declined, preferring to focus on the ‘‘cut and thrust’’ of the courtroom.

Colleague Les Griffin recalled that when Marquet joined the law firm Ross Dowling (later Ross Dowling Marquet Griffin) in 1971, significant capital expenditure was required to replace walls and introduce double glazing as Marquet’s voice was so loud.

‘‘On a local telephone call you would think they were in England. If he was on a toll call you would swear he was speaking to someone on the moon. It was penetrating,’’ he recalled.

Marquet was a perfectionist in his work, producing several drafts of submissions before he was satisfied.

He would also work late every night (after going home for dinner and doing the dishes) and on weekends, except Saturday mornings, which were reserved for golf. He was also an enthusiastic member of the Masonic Lodge.

Marquet’s weakness was chocolate, Griffin said. After an office burglary, police were busy taking notes on equipment that was stolen when Marquet burst in to cry out that five blocks of chocolate had been stolen from his office drawer. ‘‘It was more important than anything,’’ Griffin said.

Marquet also loved large cars, owning a series of Valiants in the 1970s, despite requiring a cushion to see over the steering wheel. He later purchased Volvos because he was chairman of a Dunedin car dealership that dealt in the cars.

Janet said her father was proud of the fact he could drive the twisty

280 kilometres from Dunedin to Queenstown in less than three hours. According to the Automobile Association, the trip takes about 3 hours and 30 minutes. One time when he was pulled over by police, wife Lenore thanked the officer. ‘‘He has been speeding all the way and he won’t listen to me,’’ she told the officer. A very gentle man, Marquet never raised his voice but after receiving his speeding ticket he told Lenore to please let him do the talking next time, Janet said.

Neville and Lenore were very devoted, having met when they were young and remaining married until Lenore’s death 67 years later.

They could not have children but adopted Janet and Peter.

When Janet was having a difficult pregnancy leading up to the birth of her third child, and her husband had headed out of town to play rugby, it was her father who was by her side at the birth.

‘‘He was the first person to hold Rebekkah and they have had a beautiful relationship ever since,’’ Janet said.

Marquet supported Janet and her three children after she got divorced, meeting their housing and education needs, and ensuring they did not miss out on any opportunities.

‘‘He always wanted the best for us and encouraged us to be the best.’’

Marquet’s legacy will continue through a scholarship the family started in 2017 to support a young person studying environmental and resource management law at Otago University.

Two high school scholarships were also planned, Janet said.

Marquet leaves behind daughter Janet, son Peter, three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.