Allan Brassington, formerly of Christchurch, has died in Nelson aged 79.

Graduating LLB from the then Canterbury University College, Mr Brassington was the founder and first secretary of the Canterbury College Law Students Society of which he later became president.

Practising for many years in Christchurch until his retirement, Mr Brassington was a long-serving lecturer at Canterbury University in constitutional history and law, political science, constitutional and administrative law, and international law. He was particularly known for his work in the constitutional law field, being a former Dominion Vice-President of the Constitutional Society.

Mr Brassington was a foundation member of the Law Revision Commission, and a member of the Public and Administration Law Reform Committee, the Committee on Admiralty Jurisdiction, the Council of International Commonwealth Jurists, the Statute Law Society (London) and an associate member of the Society of Public Teachers of Law.

Mr Brassington was extensively involved in a wide range of community affairs in Canterbury. He wrote extensively on the life and work of Samuel Butler and was a keen contributor to law journals and newspapers about legal and literary matters.

This obituary was published in LawTalk 141, 11 December 1981, page 6.