1856 - 1930
Prime Minister from 10 December, 1928 to 28 May, 1930.
Joseph Ward’s political
career is notable for its succession of highs and lows, and for the fact that he
showed far more administrative skill and creativity as a minister than he did as
prime minister. He is the only prime minister to have been elected for two
separate terms and in 2019 still holds the record for the longest period as a
cabinet minister (23 years, 6 months).
Although born in Australia,
he was the first NZ premier or prime minister to speak with a distinct New
Zealand accent, having moved to New Zealand at the age of seven with his family.
They settled in Bluff, known then as Campbelltown.
After engaging in a
succession of jobs from his early teens (he finished formal schooling at 13), in
a remarkable show of entrepreneurial talent by the age of 21 he had built
several storage sheds on the Bluff waterfront with £800 lent by his mother and
begun what became a life-long business enterprise initially specialising in
wool, grain and animal skins. He acquired shipping and insurance agencies and
began supplying the increasing number of small farmers with fertiliser and
stock-feed. He quickly became a well-known local figure and while still only 21
was elected to the Campbelltown borough council. He was later elected to the
Bluff harbour board and by the age of 25 became mayor. Two years later he was
chairman of the harbour board.
It was inevitable that the
ambitious young man would eventually look towards parliament and indeed he was
elected to the seat of Awarua in 1887, aged 31. In the house he was noted for
his courteous demeanour and his 'bright and happy' style of debating. He was
engaging, well dressed and accustomed to success.
He supported the Stout-Vogel
ministry until Stout was defeated and John Ballance’s Liberal party took office
in 1891 at which point Ward was immediately elevated to cabinet as
postmaster-general. A remarkable aspect of this stage of Ward’s career was that
he unashamedly mixed his business and political roles, both conducted from his
Invercargill office the door of which carried the nameplate “Hon JG Ward,
Managing Director of JG Ward Farmers Association and Postmaster-General.”
Ward’s impact on the
postmaster’s portfolio was immediate. He predicted correctly that the use of
postal services would increase if the cost of postage and telegrams were reduced
and he eventually introduced the penny post.
Richard Seddon took a
immediate liking to Ward and when Seddon became prime minister in 1893 he
appointed him colonial treasurer. He shone in this role as well, securing a
cheap loan from London and making the money available to settlers for land
purchase.
However, it was at this
point that Ward’s exceedingly promising career began to unravel – largely as a
result of him spending more and more time away from his Invercargill office,
either in Wellington or overseas. The lack of hands-on management of his
business, somewhat undercapitalised in the first place, caused debts to mount
and when they peaked at £120,000 his finances and, consequently those also of
the Colonial Bank, were in serious trouble. He had also overstretched his
resources by building Ocean Beach freezing works (highly profitable later as
frozen meat exports skyrocketed) and his troubles multiplied when commodity
prices slumped in London in 1894 and 1895. Many banks closed their doors. Ward
sold his interest in the freezing works, and while in London in 1895 borrowed
heavily to support the Farmers' Association and relieve the pressure on the
enfeebled Colonial Bank. But in October 1895 the Bank of New Zealand, itself
recently saved by government legislation pushed through parliament by Ward
himself, took over the Colonial Bank. The new bank refused to accept liability
for the bloated JG Ward Farmers' Association account, and the Association was
soon in receivership.
By now Ward was facing
bankruptcy himself, and also fighting an election campaign in 1896 against a
strong challenger for his Awarua seat. He held the seat but lost his bankruptcy
battle meaning he was obliged by parliamentary rules to immediately resign as a
member. There was, however, nothing in the rules to stop an undischarged
bankrupt from standing for parliament (this loophole was later closed) and he
was re-elected immediately in the resulting by-election, with an increased
majority. Later in 1897 he was back on the Harbour Board and in November elected
mayor for a second term. His career was back in the ascendancy. With financial
help from his wife and friends he was able to recover assets from the official
assignee, to establish another mercantile business and to settle all remaining
debts by the disposal of shares.
Richard Seddon welcomed him
back, this time as his deputy with the portfolios of colonial secretary,
industries and commerce and, again, postmaster-general. Railways and public
health were soon added. Notably absent (unsurprisingly), was the portfolio of
colonial treasurer - a responsibility he regained only when he himself became
prime minister. At this point he finally moved from Invercargill to Wellington.
To top off his recovery from the dark days of 1896-97, he was knighted during
the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall’s royal visit in 1901.
Ward’s energy, innovation
and optimism were fully restored (if indeed they were ever really lost) and he
worked tirelessly for the next five years on all his portfolios. He recognised
that railways, post and telephone services were vital to draw the country
together, he improved health and sanitation and public servants were well
treated with superannuation schemes introduced under his watch.
But this second honeymoon,
like the first, was also destined to end. The death of Richard Seddon on 10
June, 1906 elevated Ward to prime minister and, paradoxically, marked the
beginning of another downward spiral.
While Joseph Ward had
tackled his multiple ministerial portfolios with an almost youthful enthusiasm
and energy despite the fact that he turned 50 in 1906, stepping up to prime
minister required him to lead a Liberal party which by now was becoming
increasingly fractured between urban and rural factions. A major issue dividing
them was land tenure. Rural voters wanted easier access to freehold land while
city dwellers preferred the leasehold option which made land more accessible to
those with limited funds. Ward tinkered with legislation which initially
favoured the urban faction and then amended it to favour the freeholders. He
ended with compromises which pleased nobody. He was equally indecisive over
labour relations and tariffs. By now organised labour was represented by its own
political entity although the Labour party did not assume its final shape until
1916. More of a threat were the rural MPs and voters who were considering
forming a breakaway party.
Despite all these
complications Ward battled on. He functioned without any identifiable right-hand
man and controlled his ministry with less consultation within and beyond the
cabinet than his predecessors. But he remained popular with the general
electorate, boosted by his dominating presence and penchant for the big occasion
such as the visit to Auckland of Theodore Roosevelt’s “great white fleet” in
1908 (fortuitously, election year.)
The 1908 election was the
only clear victory in Ward’s seven years as prime minister. But the Liberal
party was losing ground. Seddon’s final victory in 1905 had secured fifty-eight
seats for the Liberals out of the total of eighty.
In 1908 their share dropped to 45 but the party survived with support
from four independents and the Maori members. Labour won its first seat.
From 1908 to 1911 Ward
failed to show the administrative, political and populist skills that had been
Seddon’s hallmark, nor did he have Seddon’s rough bonhomie. After a long delay
Ward named his cabinet – a mix of all factions that commentators predicted would
be impossible to manage. The ministry indeed lacked cohesion and the comradeship
that marked both the Seddon and (later) Massey cabinets.
The year 1911 contained two
further election year “big occasions”: Ward’s trip to London for an imperial
conference and the coronation of King George V; and the visit to New Zealand of
Lord Kitchener whom Ward accompanied throughout the country with considerable
pomp and ceremony. But this political theatre made him seem even more remote
from the people. By now the main opposition led by William Massey had coalesced
into the Reform party, supported largely by the rural community. Votes for the
Liberal party fell again at the 1911 election – leaving both the Liberal and
Reform parties with 38 seats each, including supporting independents. Four
further members from the Labour/Socialist block were expected to support the
Liberals in any confidence vote but in the event only three did so, leaving the
Liberals hanging onto government by the slenderest of margins. But more
significant was a strange promise made by Ward to those three left-wingers that,
should the Liberals need their support, he would resign as prime minister to
help them draw anti-Ward Reform voters to their side in their respective
electorates.
So Ward’s premiership came
quietly to an end on 28 March, 1912 when he was called by the three independent
members to fulfil his promise and resign. But the significance of the event was
lost as more drama followed in July. A further vote of confidence was conducted
and this time Massey’s Reform party secured a majority after some key
independent members, including future prime minister Gordon Coates, changed
sides. The Liberal party collapsed in a quiet whimper. The changing demographic
of the electorate was making it increasingly difficult for one party to cater
for all factions although the Liberal party had managed to do this for nearly 21
years.
Ward’s political life of
highs and lows was far from over. The bumpy ride from energetic cabinet minister
to bankruptcy; deputy prime minister and prime minister to the 1911 election
disaster and his 1912 resignation were all followed by yet another surge in his
fortunes. Miraculously the Liberal
party kicked back into life and in 1913 Ward was back leading it. The party came
close to unseating Massey in the 1914 election and Ward joined Massey in a
national wartime ministry in 1915. Although opposition leader he was made
minister of finance in the combined ministry and was seen (at least by himself)
as a near-equal to Massey.
Then yet again Ward’s
fortunes changed. In the 1919 post-war election he lost his Awarua seat, having
held it for 33 years. But despite this major setback he kept his political flame
burning, contesting the Invercargill seat in 1925 and winning his way back into
parliament as the sole Liberal member. Meanwhile as the country headed towards
the 1928 election a political entrepreneur was busy setting up a new party
(United) made up of remnants of the Liberals and other ambitious individuals,
targeting votes from business-oriented city-dwellers and determined to undermine
and bring the sixteen year Reform ministry (led since Massey’s death in 1925 by
Gordon Coates) to an end. The venerable 72 year old Joseph Ward was invited to
lead the new party into the 1928 election. United failed to win outright but
with support from Labour and several independents, the Coates government was
defeated in a confidence motion. United, with 27 seats, was granted the right to
lead a minority government. Thus Joseph Ward became prime minister for the
second time. The pendulum had swung back in his favour yet again.
The irony of Ward’s victory
was that his campaign was given massive impetus by a speech in which he misread
his notes and promised to borrow seventy million pounds to stimulate the economy
when in fact the actual figure was seven million. Needless to say, he could not
fulfil his promise and the ministry was a failure. His health deteriorated and
he was eventually persuaded to resign on 28 May, 1930. He was replaced as prime
minister by United deputy leader George Forbes. It was the final act of his
roller-coaster career.
He remained in cabinet until
his death on 8 July, 1930
Ward’s most successful and influential period
was his early years as a cabinet minister. In the higher office he lacked the
skills needed to manage a diverse cabinet and serve an increasingly diverse
electorate. He will be remembered as the final vestige of the extraordinary
Liberal party era which effectively came to an end with the death of Richard
Seddon in 1906.
He was interred in Bluff on 14 July, 1930.
Goto next Prime Minister: Thomas Mackenzie