Sir Joseph Augustine Ongley (5 February 1918 – 22 October 2000) was a New Zealand

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er and lawyer. He was 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 ...

Early life

The son of Arthur "Joe" Ongley, he was born 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 ...

and educated at

St. Patrick's College, Silverstream St Patrick's College is a state-integrated school, state-integrated Roman Catholic Church, Catholic boys' day school, day and boarding school, boarding secondary school located in Silverstream, Upper Hutt, New Zealand. It was established in 193 ...

, and Victoria College, Wellington, where he graduated

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1939. A "correct, polished and dashing" batsman, he made his

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 ...

debut for Manawatu at the age of 17 in 1935–36. He captained the team in its six matches in 1936–37 and 1937–38, when Manawatu, the champions, withstood five consecutive challenges.

First-class cricket career

Ongley made his first-class debut in 1938–39 for

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 ...

in 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 ...

, scoring a century in his first match against

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 ...

. Batting first, at one stage Wellington were 116 for 5, but Ongley made 110, reaching his century in 149 minutes, and Wellington went on to win by an innings. He was selected to play 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 ...

later that season against Sir Julien Cahn's XI and made 35 as an opening batsman in a match ruined by rain. He married Joan Archer in 1943. They had four sons and a daughter. Ongley continued to play for Wellington, with moderate success, through the late 1940s, and captained the team from 1947–48 to 1949–50. He also continued to captain Manawatu in the Hawke Cup, including a period as title holders in the mid-1940s. When the

Central Districts The Central Stags, formerly known as Central Districts, are a 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 Plunket Shield firs ...

team made its first appearance in the 1950–51 Plunket Shield, he was chosen to be captain. Central Districts finished second in 1950–51 and third in 1951–52, after which Ongley retired from first-class cricket. He continued to captain Manawatu until 1956–57, and played his last Hawke Cup match in 1957–58.

Later life

Ongley became the first-ever chairman of Central Districts Cricket Association, a position he held from 1954 to 1969. He managed the

New Zealand cricket team in Australia in 1967–68 The New Zealand cricket team toured Australia in the 1967-68 season. They played four first-class matches and three other matches between 17 November and 12 December 1967. It was New Zealand's first dedicated tour to Australia since 1925-26.'' ...

. Ongley was a judge of the New Zealand Supreme Court. He was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

in the 1987 Queen's Birthday Honours.

References

External links

Joe Ongley
at CricketArchive

at

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ongley, Joe 1918 births 2000 deaths New Zealand cricketers Wellington cricketers People educated at St. Patrick's College, Silverstream Victoria University of Wellington alumni Central Districts cricketers 20th-century New Zealand judges High Court of New Zealand judges People from Feilding New Zealand cricket administrators New Zealand Knights Bachelor New Zealand Services cricketers