Joseph Augustus Tole (1846 – 13 December 1920) was a 19th-century New Zealand lawyer, politician, and

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

from 1884 to 1887. Tole was born in 1846 in

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

, Yorkshire, England. He came to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

with his parents, John Tole and Margaret O'Halloran. In Auckland, he attended St Peter's School under the guidance of his teacher,

Richard O'Sullivan Richard O'Sullivan (born 7 May 1944) is an English comedy actor, who is known for his role as Robin Tripp in the 1970s sitcoms ''Man About the House'' (1973–1976) and ''Robin's Nest (TV series), Robin's Nest'' (1977–1981) and as the title c ...

. From St Peter's School, he knew John Sheehan. He then boarded at St John's College in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. He matriculated in 1865 and graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1868. He received admission to the bar in 1871 and subsequently graduated with a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

. Following that, he returned to New Zealand, where he was admitted in 1872. He married Eleanor Blanche Mary Lewis in

on 4 November 1882. He represented the Auckland electorate of Eden from 1876 general election (held on 6 January) until

1887 Events January–March * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Har ...

. Following the 1884 general election, he became Minister of Justice in the Stout–Vogel Ministry. In the 1887 election, when he contested the Newton electorate, the two other candidates were

Edward Withy Edward Withy (c. 1844 – 26 March 1927) was born in Bristol, England and in 1869 co-founded a shipbuilding partnership at Hartlepool that eventually became part of Furness Withy. He sold the firm in 1884 and emigrated from England to New Zealand ...

(a political novice who, after early retirement from business, had emigrated with his large family to Auckland in 1884) and Henry Thomas Garrett. Tole and Garrett were liberal politicians, whilst Withy was a conservative. The liberal vote was split, and Tole, Withy and Garrett received 606, 701 and 170 votes, respectively, with Withy thus elected. In 1893, he became Crown Prosecutor at Auckland and remained in that role until his death. He was among the inaugural New Zealand

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 ...

appointed in 1907. He had been ill for four months and was improving, but he died at his home in

Remuera Remuera is an affluent inner city suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located four kilometres southeast of the city centre. Remuera is characterised by many large houses, often Edwardian or mid 20th century. A prime example of a "leafy" sub ...

from heart failure on 13 December 1920.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tole, Joseph 1846 births 1920 deaths New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand People educated at St Peter's College, Auckland University of Sydney alumni New Zealand Roman Catholics English emigrants to New Zealand Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand King's Counsel People from Wakefield Unsuccessful candidates in the 1887 New Zealand general election 19th-century New Zealand politicians Justice ministers of New Zealand