George Jones (1844 – 16 December 1920) was a 19th-century
member of parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
in
Otago
Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...
, New Zealand.
Education and career
Jones was born in
Upper Hutt
Upper Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand and one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area.
Geography
The Upper Hutt city cent ...
in 1844. He went to Australia with his parents, where he received his education at Scales Academy and then at the
Geelong Grammar School
, motto_translation = 1 Corinthians 1:30: "For us, Christ was made wisdom"(1 Corinthians 1:30: Christ, who has been made for us in wisdom)
, city = Corio, Victoria
, country = Australia
, coordinates =
, ty ...
. He learned his trade in printing and writing and returned to New Zealand in 1863, where he took up roles with the
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
newspapers ''Canterbury Standard'' (owned by
Joseph Brittan
Joseph Brittan (12 January 1806 – 27 October 1867), a surgeon, newspaper editor, and provincial councillor, was one of the dominant figures in early Christchurch, New Zealand. Born into a middle-class family in southern England, he followed ...
), the ''Lyttelton Times'', and then ''The Press''.
He moved to Ngaruawahia in 1872,
where he set up the
Waikato Times
The ''Waikato Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Hamilton, New Zealand and owned by media business Stuff Ltd. It has a circulation to the greater Waikato region and became a tabloid paper in 2018.
The newspaper has won the title of Ne ...
, selling it when he moved to
Oamuru in 1877.
In 1877, Jones acquired the ''
Oamaru Mail
The ''Oamaru Mail'' is a weekly community newspaper published each Friday in Oamaru, New Zealand, by the Dunedin–based media company Allied Press Ltd that serves the North Otago area. The motto of the paper is "Your community, Your News".
...
'' newspaper. That same year, Jones and his newspaper were caught up in a criminal libel case after Jones published an article accusing the
Attorney-General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
Frederick Whitaker
Sir Frederick Whitaker (23 April 1812 – 4 December 1891) was an English-born New Zealand politician who served twice as the premier of New Zealand and six times as Attorney-General.
Early life
Whitaker was born at the Deanery Manor House, ...
of sponsoring a Native Land Bill to assist in the acquisition of confiscated
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
land for himself and his friends. Jones was acquitted during that trial, which boosted the ''Evening Mail'' fortunes and public image. The New Zealand media hailed the outcome of the case as a victory for press freedom. Under Jones' leadership, the ''Oamaru Mail'' experienced a boom in advertising and circulation. He and his family retained control of the ''Oamaru Mail'' and the
Invercargill
Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...
-based ''Southland News''.
Political career
He represented the
Waitaki
Waitaki District is a territorial authority district that is located in the Canterbury and Otago regions of the South Island of New Zealand. It straddles the traditional border between the two regions, the Waitaki River, and its seat is Oamaru.
...
electorate from to 1881, when he retired.
He was appointed to the
Legislative Council in 1895, until he died in 1920.
Legacy
Following Jones' death in 1920, his son E.A. Jones inherited the ''Oamaru Mail'' and became the governing director of both the ''Oamaru Mail'' and the ''Southland News''; the latter of which had been acquired by Southland News Ltd. The two companies were run in tandem with each other.
Further reading
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, George
1844 births
1920 deaths
Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council
New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates
People educated at Geelong Grammar School
19th-century New Zealand politicians