Arthur Montague "Joe" Ongley (21 June 1882 – 17 October 1974) was a New Zealand lawyer, politician, and cricket and

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player and administrator. Born in Oamaru, he later lived in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, Napier, and

Hokitika Hokitika is a town in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island, south of Greymouth, and close to the mouth of the Hokitika River. It is the seat and largest town in the Westland District. The town's estimated population is as of . ...

, before settling in

Feilding Feilding ( mi, Aorangi) is a town in the Manawatū District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 54, 20 kilometres north of Palmerston North. The town is the seat of the Manawatū District Council. Feilding has w ...

. He excelled in a number of sports and Ongley Park in

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

, used for cricket and rugby, is named for him. His most notable sporting activity was as a cricketer, and he played four

first-class matches First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

. He served as an administrator on the

New Zealand Cricket Council New Zealand Cricket, formerly the New Zealand Cricket Council, is the governing body for professional cricket in New Zealand. Cricket is the most popular and highest profile summer sport in New Zealand. New Zealand Cricket operates the New Z ...

and was the organisation's president. He was a solicitor and then barrister in Feilding, and became

Crown Solicitor A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

in Palmerston North. He was a member of the Feilding Borough council and was the town's mayor from 1913 to 1919.

Early life

Ongley was born in

Oamaru Oamaru (; mi, Te Oha-a-Maru) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the railway ...

, the son of the gardener Frederick Ongley (died 1944 in

) and his wife, Mary Ann Ongley (née Mullin). His father, born in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, arrived in 1872 and settled in Oamaru, where his parents married in 1877. Frederick "Fred" William Ongley (1879–1969), a judge at the Compensation Court, was an elder brother. The geologist Mont Ongley (1888–1976) was a younger brother. He attended

St. Patrick's College, Wellington St Patrick's College is a Roman Catholic boys' secondary school in New Zealand. History Founded by Archbishop Francis Redwood Society of Mary (Marists), SM, St Patrick's opened on 1 June 1885 with nine day pupil, day-boys and twelve boarders. ...

Sport

Ongley excelled at a number of sports, and in sports circles was known as "Joe". While living in

, he became champion at both local tennis clubs.

Cricket career

It was in Oamaru where he learned his cricket. After his time in Wellington, he moved to Napier, where he was coached by

Albert Trott Albert Edwin Trott (6 February 1873 – 30 July 1914) was a Test cricketer for both Australia and England. He was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1899. He is believed to be the only batsman to have struck a ball over the to ...

and represented

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

in two first-class matches in 1901–02. He then moved to

Westland Westland or Westlands may refer to: Places *Westlands, an affluent neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi, Kenya * Westlands, Staffordshire, a suburban area and ward in Newcastle-under-Lyme *Westland, a peninsula of the Shetland Mainland near Vaila ...

, where, playing for the

team in local cricket in 1902–03, he took 55 wickets with his leg-spin for only 147 runs. Representing a Westland XXII against Lord Hawke's XI that season, on a matting pitch in

Greymouth Greymouth () (Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coas ...

, he took 8 for 36 off 23 overs, bowling unchanged throughout the innings, and dismissed the English team for 69 in the first innings after Westland had made 111. The New Zealand Prime Minister

Richard Seddon Richard John Seddon (22 June 1845 – 10 June 1906) was a New Zealand politician who served as the List of prime ministers of New Zealand, 15th Prime Minister of New Zealand, premier (prime minister) of New Zealand from 1893 until his death. ...

, who was also Hokitika's member of parliament, sent Ongley a telegram of congratulations. Noting Ongley's accuracy and his ability to turn the ball either way, the English batsman

Pelham Warner Sir Pelham Francis Warner, (2 October 1873 – 30 January 1963), affectionately and better known as Plum Warner or "the Grand Old Man" of English cricket, was a Test cricketer and cricket administrator. He was knighted for services to sport in ...

suggested he be considered for the New Zealand team to play Lord Hawke's XI. He was selected for the South Island team against Lord Hawke's XI a few weeks later but bowled only six overs for one wicket. Ongley moved back to the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

, this time to

. He represented Manawatu at cricket from 1906 to 1935. He played in the first-ever match in the

Hawke Cup The Hawke Cup is a non-first-class cricket competition for New Zealand's district associations. Apart from 1910–11, 1912–13 and 2000–01 the competition has always been on a challenge basis. To win the Hawke Cup, the challengers must beat t ...

in December 1910, bowling unchanged through both innings and taking 5 for 13 and 7 for 84 in Manawatu's victory over

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...

. He was a member of the Manawatu team that held the Hawke Cup from February 1928 to March 1930. He served as President of the

. He was a fervent advocate for the interests of the Minor Associations of New Zealand cricket from 1923 until finally, in 1950–51, the Central Districts team was admitted to the

Plunket Shield New Zealand has had a domestic first-class cricket championship since the 1906–07 season. Since the 2009–10 season it has been known by its original name of the Plunket Shield. History The Plunket Shield competition was instigated in Octob ...

. He was president of the

Central Districts Cricket Association The Central Stags, formerly known as Central Districts, are a First-class cricket, first-class cricket team based in central New Zealand. They are the men's representative side of the Central Districts Cricket Association. They compete in the ...

from 1949 to 1955 and was known as the father of Central Districts cricket.

Rugby career

He represented

North Otago North Otago in New Zealand covers the area of Otago between Shag Point and the Waitaki River, and extends inland to the west as far as the village of Omarama (which has experienced rapid growth as a developing centre for astronomy and for glid ...

, Hokitika and Manawatu at rugby union. In 1938 he became president of the

New Zealand Rugby Union New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it became an affiliate to t ...

. Ongley Park in

is named after him.

Legal career

Ongley joined the clerical staff at the courthouse in Palmerston North in August 1904, having come from

. He qualified as a solicitor in 1906, when he was admitted by the Chief Justice,

Robert Stout Sir Robert Stout (28 September 1844 – 19 July 1930) was a New Zealand politician who was the 13th premier of New Zealand on two occasions in the late 19th century, and later Chief Justice of New Zealand. He was the only person to hold both ...

, during a sitting of the Supreme Court in Palmerston North, and resigned from the court staff and set himself up as a solicitor in Darragh's building in Feilding facing Manchester Square. At the same time, he moved from Palmerston North to Feilding. He qualified as a barrister in 1911. He became Crown Solicitor in

. He was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the 1959 New Year Honours in recognition of his services to the law.

Political career

Ongley was a member of the borough council at Feilding; he joined the council elected unopposed when a vacancy occurred in September 1910. At the biennial election in April 1911, he was confirmed as one of the nine borough councillors. The day after his wedding, he started his election campaign for mayor, challenging the incumbent mayor, Edmund Goodbehere. After a strong contest and a record voter turnout, Ongley defeated the incumbent on 30 April 1913 by five votes (658 votes to 653). He was Mayor of Feilding from 1913 to 1919. In the 1915 mayoral election, he was returned elected unopposed.

Personal life

On 26 March 1913, Ongley married Nora Crina Lynch at St Patrick's Church at

. She was the daughter of J. Lynch of Kildare, Duke Street, Palmerston North.

Jimmy Nash James Alfred Nash (27 July 1871 – 24 July 1952), known as Jimmy Nash, was a Reform Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand and a Mayor of Palmerston North. Biography Nash was born in 1871 in Foxton to Ann Ellen Webster and Norman ...

, the

Mayor of Palmerston North The Mayor of Palmerston North is the head of the municipal government of Palmerston North, New Zealand, and presides over the Palmerston North City Council. The current mayor is Grant Smith, who became mayor in a February 2015 by-election. This ...

, was the master of ceremonies at their reception. They had two sons and a daughter.Arthur Montague Ongley
Retrieved 11 September 2015. Their son

Joe Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

played cricket for

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, was the inaugural captain of Central Districts, became a judge of the

New Zealand Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New Zealand ( mi, Te Kōti Mana Nui, lit=Court of Great Mana) is the highest court and the court of last resort of New Zealand. It formally came into being on 1 January 2004 and sat for the first time on 1 July 2004. It re ...

, and was knighted.

References

External links

Arthur Ongley
at CricketArchive

at

ESPNcricinfo ESPN cricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ongley, Arthur 1882 births 1974 deaths New Zealand cricketers Hawke's Bay cricketers 20th-century New Zealand lawyers Cricketers from Oamaru North Otago rugby union players Manawatu rugby union players New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand cricket administrators New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire Mayors of places in Manawatū-Whanganui New Zealand Rugby Football Union officials People educated at St. Patrick's College, Wellington People from Feilding Rugby union players from Oamaru