Thomson Wilson Leys (23 April 1850 – 27 September 1924) was a

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 ...

journalist, editor, newspaper proprietor and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. He was born in Sneinton,

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

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on 23 April 1850.

Early life

Thomson Wilson Leys, the son of William Leys, a Scottish excise officer, and Hannah, ''née'' Wilson, was born in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, where his father was Supervisor of Inland Revenue. He was five years a pupil at the People's College, Nottingham, and emigrated to New Zealand in 1863 with his brother William Leys and his parents, who joined the great

Nonconformist Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

movement to establish a special settlement at

Albertland Port Albert is situated on the shores of the Kaipara Harbour, approximately 8 kilometres west of Wellsford, in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. Originally called Albertland, it was the last of the major organised British settlements in New Z ...

, north of

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 ...

Career

After arrival in New Zealand, Leys was apprenticed in the printing office of the ''Southern Cross'', the oldest and most influential journal in the colony at that period. Three years later he obtained a transfer to the literary staff as shipping reporter, and in 1870, at the age of twenty, became sub-editor of the ''Daily Southern Cross'' and ''Weekly News'', which were then owned by Julius Vogel, Colonial Treasurer. Compelled by ill-health to relinquish night work, he resigned and joined the editorial staff of the ''Auckland Star'', assuming the chief editorship in February 1875, having also acquired a partnership interest in that paper, the ''New Zealand Farmer'', ''New Zealand Graphic'', and the large printing and publishing business connected with those journals. In the scant leisure which falls to the lot of the editor of a daily newspaper, Mr. Leys did much literary work. He contributed the Auckland section of Sir Julius Vogel's "New Zealand Handbook", edited the "Early History of New Zealand," covering the period from the earliest times to 1845, and also the "Colonist's Guide," a standard textbook for settlers in New Zealand. He has also edited for sixteen years the annual issues of the ''Auckland Almanack'', a valuable compendium of statistical and descriptive matter relating to New Zealand. Being one of the party formed at

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

on the day after the Tarawera eruption to visit

Rotomahana Lake Rotomahana is an lake in northern New Zealand, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Rotorua. It is immediately south-west of the dormant volcano Mount Tarawera, and its geography was substantially altered by a major 1886 eruption of Mo ...

and ascertain the condition of the Terraces, Leys wrote a graphic description of that great volcanic outburst, which was published in separate form. Among his minor literary works are a brochure on "The Doctrine of Evolution," in reply to Professor Denton, and notes of a holiday excursion to the South Sea Islands, "The Cruise of the Wairarapa". In 1891 Mr. Leys represented a syndicate of New Zealand journals at the Federation Convention in Sydney. In 1906 he established the Leys Institute Library in Ponsonby, adding his own funds to a bequest made by his brother, William Leys. His son, Sir William Cecil Leys, was born 1877. One of Thomson Leys' daughters is Winifred Leys, who married Selwyn Upton, and died in 1958. Thomson Leys died on 27 September 1924 in Auckland and was buried at Purewa cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leys, Thomson 1850 births 1924 deaths New Zealand philanthropists New Zealand journalists People from Sneinton English emigrants to New Zealand Burials at Purewa Cemetery