Edmund Storr Halswell (28 February 1790 – 1 January 1874), born Edmund Storr Haswell, was an English barrister. He came to New Zealand on behalf of the New Zealand Company and lived there from March 1841 to April 1845, and held some official positions, including commissioner of native reserves and judge. After he had returned to England, he became a member of the Canterbury Association and was one of just two people in England at the time who had actually seen the Canterbury Plains. Some landmarks are named after him, including the Christchurch suburb of Halswell and Point Halswell in Wellington Harbour. Early life Halswell was born in Marylebone, London, in 1790. He was the second son of Elizabeth ( Bland) and Henry Haswell of Presteigne in Radnorshire, Wales. On 31 January 1818, Halswell married Mary Caroline Spiller ( – 1869). Halswell received his education at St John's College of the University of Cambridge, from where he matriculated in 1819, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1827, and a Master of Arts in 1830. He obtained a further degree from Caius College in 1832. During his time at the St John's College, he changed his surname based on his belief that he was descended from the Halswell family from Goathurst in Somerset who owned Halswell House. Halswell was admitted to the Middle Temple on 2 June 1831 and received a call to the bar on 6 June 1834. In 1836 and 1837, he was Metropolitan Commissioner in Lunacy. From 1837 to 1843, he was Queen's Counsel for the Duchy of Lancaster. He held the rank of Serjeant-at-law and lived at Gore Lodge in Brompton. New Zealand Halswell was appointed by the New Zealand Company as commissioner of native affairs and arrived in Wellington Harbour on the Lady Nugent on 17 March 1841, with his son (Hugh Beauchamp Halswell) accompanying him. He lived in the Wellington suburb of Brooklyn. On 20 July 1841, Halswell was appointed chairman of the courts of quarter sessions, "Protector of Aborigines in the Southern District of this Island" (i.e. Māori people), and Commissioner for the Management of the Native Reserves. On 26 February 1842, he was appointed judge of the County Court of the southern portion of New Ulster Province. On 3 May 1841, Halswell was appointed to the General Legislative Council as one of the country's three senior justices. Halswell's term on the