Sir William Hall-Jones (16 January 1851 – 19 June 1936) was the

16th 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and . In English speech, ...

prime minister of New Zealand The prime minister of New Zealand ( mi, Te pirimia o Aotearoa) is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, took office on 26 October 2017. The prime minister (inform ...

from June 1906 until August 1906. Hall-Jones entered parliament in 1890, later becoming a member of the Liberal Party. He was interim prime minister from the death of

Richard Seddon Richard John Seddon (22 June 1845 – 10 June 1906) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 15th premier (prime minister) of New Zealand from 1893 until his death. In office for thirteen years, he is to date New Zealand's longest-se ...

to the return from overseas of

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 Uni ...

. Hall-Jones was a mild mannered man with a fully earned reputation as an outstanding administrator. Seddon famously said of him, "He is the best administrator I have in my Cabinet." From 1908 to 1912, Hall-Jones was New Zealand's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.

Early years

Hall-Jones was born in

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20 ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it fac ...

, England, and landed at Dunedin in 1873. He became a carpenter and later a builder in

Timaru Timaru (; mi, Te Tihi-o-Maru) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to ...

. He developed an interest in local politics serving on the Timaru Borough Council from 1884 to 1886, and again from 1890 to 1892.

Member of Parliament

The death of Richard Turnbull triggered a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

in the Timaru electorate, which was won by Hall-Jones on 18 August 1890. Hall-Jones had initially refused nomination from locals, citing several upcoming business contracts. However, after persistent calls, Hall-Jones reluctantly accepted despite having no parliamentary ambitions. He represented Timaru in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ca ...

until his resignation in October 1908. Hall-Jones proved an independent thinker. He was initially an Independent Liberal holding moderate, progressive views that tended to align him with

John Ballance John Ballance (27 March 1839 – 27 April 1893) was an Irish-born New Zealand politician who was the 14th premier of New Zealand, from January 1891 to April 1893, the founder of the Liberal Party (the country's first organised political part ...

, Sir

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Gov ...

and John McKenzie. He joined the Liberal caucus and in 1891 became the party whip alongside Westby Perceval.

Cabinet minister

Hall-Jones became a cabinet minister in March 1896 and was given the Public Works portfolio by the prime minister,

following

William Pember Reeves William Pember Reeves (10 February 1857 – 16 May 1932) was a New Zealand politician, cricketer, historian and poet who promoted social reform. Early life and career Reeves's parents were William Reeves, who was a journalist and politician ...

resignation to become Agent General for New Zealand in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and No ...

. His main task in this role was improving the main trunk rail line between

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

and

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 ...

. Rejecting a proposal for another incline on the Rimutaka ranges he insisted on using a better route, resulting in the

Raurimu Spiral The Raurimu Spiral is a single-track railway spiral, starting with a horseshoe curve, overcoming a height difference, in the central North Island of New Zealand, on the North Island Main Trunk railway (NIMT) between Wellington and Auckland. I ...

. He was also responsible for the eventual construction of the Otira tunnel, going through

Arthur's Pass Arthur's Pass, previously called Camping Flat then Bealey Flats, and for some time officially Arthurs Pass, is a township in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand, located in the Selwyn district. It is a popular base for explorin ...

. Several weeks after entering cabinet, Hall-Jones was also appointed minister of marine, a post which he was to hold for over a decade. Hall-Jones was also responsible for passing a bill granting protection to the famous navigation dolphin

Pelorus Jack Pelorus Jack (fl. 1888 – April 1912) was a Risso's dolphin (''Grampus griseus'') that was famous for meeting and escorting ships through a stretch of water in Cook Strait, New Zealand. The animal was reported over a 24 year period, from 1 ...

Order in Council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' K ...

under the Sea Fisheries Act on 26 September 1904.

Prime Minister

Hall-Jones was acting prime minister during the absence from the country of Seddon in 1906 and formed an administration immediately after Seddon's funeral. During his brief period as prime minister, he was colonial treasurer,

minister of labour Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

, minister of education, minister for public works and minister of marine. However, Hall-Jones announced that he would only hold power until Sir

's return from abroad. Despite this, there was much speculation in the media that he might attempt to remain in office as Seddon himself had done in 1893.

Later career

Hall-Jones accepted the Railways and Public Works portfolios in the subsequent Ward administration. Later, he succeeded

as High Commissioner for New Zealand in London in December 1908, returned to New Zealand at the end of his term in 1912, and was appointed to the Legislative Council by Massey. Hall-Jones died at his home in

on 19 June 1936.

Notes

References

* * * * *''The Bateman New Zealand Encyclopedia'', 1988

External links

*
Prime Ministers Office Biography: William Hall-Jones
, - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall-Jones, William 1851 births 1936 deaths English emigrants to New Zealand Local politicians in New Zealand Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand New Zealand education ministers Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council New Zealand finance ministers New Zealand Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George New Zealand Liberal Party MPs Leaders of political parties in New Zealand People from Folkestone Prime Ministers of New Zealand People from Timaru New Zealand Liberal Party MLCs High Commissioners of New Zealand to the United Kingdom New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates 19th-century New Zealand politicians New Zealand politicians awarded knighthoods Justice ministers of New Zealand