Sir John George Findlay (21 October 1862 – 7 December 1929) was a New Zealand politician of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, and was a

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

minister from 1906 to 1911.

Early life and family

Born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

in 1862, Findlay graduated from the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

with a

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 1886 and

LLD Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation#Plural forms, abbrev ...

in 1893. He was admitted to the Bar in 1887 and practised as a lawyer first 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 ...

and later 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 ...

. He was appointed

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1907. He and his wife Josephine had three sons: Wilfred,

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

and Ian.

Political career

Findlay was one of nine candidates who contested the three-member electorate in the ; he came sixth with 33.7% of the vote. He was active with the

and wrote much of its election manifesto for the . When 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 ...

Albert Pitt Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon Albert Pitt (1842 – 18 November 1906) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician, and a cabinet minister. In 1914, eight years after his death, The Albert Pitt Memorial Gates were erected in the Queen's Gardens, Nel ...

, died in November 1906, there were no suitable members of the legal profession in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. Hence,

Joseph Ward Sir Joseph George Ward, 1st Baronet, (26 April 1856 – 8 July 1930) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 17th prime minister of New Zealand from 1906 to 1912 and from 1928 to 1930. He was a dominant figure in the Liberal and Unit ...

appointed Findlay to the Legislative Council on 23 November 1906, and appointed him Attorney-General and Colonial Secretary on the same day. During his tenure of the latter post, which he held until 6 January 1909, it was renamed to

Minister of Internal Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

. In the

1911 Coronation Honours The Coronation Honours 1911 for the British Empire were announced on 19 June 1911, to celebrate the coronation of George V which was held on 22 June 1911. The honours were covered in the press at the time, including in ''The Times'' on 20 June 19 ...

, Findlay was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

. He resigned from the Legislative Council on 20 November 1911 in preparation for the . Hamer says that he was sent to Auckland and contested the Parnell seat, in an attempt of the Liberals who were facing defeat in

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

to show that they took Auckland seriously. He lost in the second ballot, with

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

, which had been eliminated on the first ballot split over whether to support Findlay or the

Reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill#The Yorkshire Associati ...

candidate James Samuel Dickson. He represented the

Hawkes 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 ...

electorate from 1917 to 1919, when he retired. He died in

Horsted Keynes Horsted Keynes is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. The village is about north east of Haywards Heath, in the Weald. The civil parish is largely rural, covering . At the 2011 census, it had a popula ...

, East Sussex, England, in 1929.

Works by John Findlay

:* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :*

Notes

References

* * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Findlay, John George 1862 births 1929 deaths Attorneys-General of New Zealand New Zealand Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George New Zealand educators New Zealand Liberal Party MPs Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council University of Otago alumni University of Otago faculty New Zealand Liberal Party MLCs New Zealand King's Counsel Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Unsuccessful candidates in the 1902 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1911 New Zealand general election Colonial Secretaries of New Zealand Attorneys-General of the Colony of New Zealand New Zealand politicians awarded knighthoods People from Horsted Keynes Justice ministers of New Zealand