Sir Joseph Ward, New Zealand’s political Lazarus, led governments nearly a quarter of a century apart.
Joseph Ward
Personal details
Full Name:
Joseph George Ward
Lifetime:
26 Apr 1856 – 8 Jul 1930
Prime Minister:
6 Aug 1906–12 Mar 1912; 10 Dec 1928–28 May 1930
Age on becoming Prime Minister:
50
Electorate:
Awarua (1906-12); Invercargill (1928-30)
Political Party:
Liberal; United
Biography
Events In History
6 November 1908
Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward ceremonially opened the North Island main trunk railway line by driving home a final polished silver spike at Manganuioteao, between Waimarino (National Park) and Ohakune.
26 September 1907
Prime Minister Ward read the proclamation to a smallish crowd from the steps of the General Assembly Library in Wellington. This first Dominion Day was a public holiday.
Articles
Dominion status
On 26 September 1907 the colony of New Zealand ceased to exist. It became, instead, a dominion within the British Empire. Read the full article
Page 1 - Dominion status
On 26 September 1907 the colony of New Zealand ceased to exist. It became, instead, a dominion within the British
Page 2 - Becoming a dominion
New Zealand had its own reasons for wanting to become a dominion. Premier Sir Joseph Ward hoped the term ‘dominion’ would remind the world that New Zealand was not part of
The 1920s
The 1920s was the decade that modern New Zealand came of age. Despite political and economic uncertainty, the country shrugged off the gloom of war to embrace the Jazz Age - an era of speed, power and glamour. Explore an overview of the decade and a year-by-year breakdown of key events. Read the full article
Page 11 - 1928 - key events
A selection of key New Zealand events from
Housing the Prime Minister
Almost 150 years after the government purchased the first official premier's residence on Tinakori Road, Wellington, the address of Premier House remains the same. But in the intervening years the building has been extended, renamed, abandoned and refurbished. Read the full article
Page 2 - The first premier house
Our first premiers had to find their own digs. That changed in 1865, when the government bought the premier a simple 22-year-old wooden cottage in Thorndon’s Tinakori
Main image: Richard Seddon and his cabinet, 1906
Photograph of Richard Seddon's (1893-1906) 1906 ministerial cabinet.
