Judge Sarah Lindsay, who was appointed to the Family Court in Northland in 2010, didn't want any fuss after her last sitting in Kaitaia on Tuesday. She wanted to slip away quietly, but she was overruled.
"That doesn't happen in Kaitaia," registrar Tania Parker said before a farewell lunch was served, although Tui Kapa suggested that the meal was actually a last-ditch effort to persuade her not to transfer to Christchurch.
If it was an attempt to change her mind it didn't work, but Judge Lindsay made it clear that she had very much enjoyed her eight years in the Far North, and hoped to take "a little of the North" with her to her new posting.
"There is a great wealth of humanity here," she said, "for all the difficulties and the need for financial resources.
"It's hard to live and work here without being affected. I was privileged to have been sent here."