Joseph Augustus Tole KC (1846 – 13 December 1920) was a 19th-century New Zealand lawyer, politician, and Minister of Justice from 1884 to 1887.

Joseph Tole
Tole in court regalia
9th Minister of Justice
In office
3 September 1884 – 8 October 1887
Prime MinisterRobert Stout
Preceded byEdward Conolly
Succeeded byThomas Fergus
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Eden
In office
6 January 1876 – 15 July 1887
Preceded byRobert James Creighton
Succeeded byEdwin Mitchelson
Personal details
Born
Joseph Augustus Tole

1846
Wakefield, Yorkshire, England
Died13 December 1920(1920-12-13) (aged 73–74)
Remuera, Auckland, New Zealand
ProfessionLawyer

Tole was born in 1846 in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England.[1] He came to Auckland with his parents,[2] John Tole and Margaret O'Halloran.[1] In Auckland, he attended St Peter's School under the guidance of his teacher, Richard O'Sullivan.[2] From St Peter's School, he knew John Sheehan.[2] He then boarded at St John's College in Sydney. He matriculated in 1865 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1868. He received admission to the bar in 1871 and subsequently graduated with a Master of Laws. Following that, he returned to New Zealand, where he was admitted in 1872.[3]

He married Eleanor Blanche Mary Lewis in Auckland on 4 November 1882.[1]

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1876–1879 6th Eden Independent
1879–1881 7th Eden Independent
1881–1884 8th Eden Independent
1884–1887 9th Eden Independent

He represented the Auckland electorate of Eden from 1876 general election (held on 6 January) until 1887.[4] Following the 1884 general election, he became Minister of Justice in the Stout–Vogel Ministry.[5]

In the 1887 election, when he contested the Newton electorate, the two other candidates were Edward Withy (a political novice who, after early retirement from business, had emigrated with his large family to Auckland in 1884) and Henry Thomas Garrett.[6] Tole and Garrett were liberal politicians, whilst Withy was a conservative.[7] The liberal vote was split, and Tole, Withy and Garrett received 606, 701 and 170 votes, respectively, with Withy thus elected.[8][9]

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 appointed in 1907.[10] He had been ill for four months and was improving, but he died at his home in Remuera from heart failure on 13 December 1920.[3][11]

Notes

edit
  1. ^ a b c McCarthy, Linda M. "Joseph Augustus Tole". Lewis Family Ancestors. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  2. ^ a b c Cyclopedia Company Limited 1902, p. 107.
  3. ^ a b "Death of Hon. J. A. Tole". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LVII, no. 17653. 14 December 1920. p. 8. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  4. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 241.
  5. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 70.
  6. ^ "Newton". Auckland Star. Vol. XVIII, no. 219. 19 September 1887. p. 5. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  7. ^ "Newton". Auckland Star. Vol. XVIII, no. 224. 24 September 1887. p. 4. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  8. ^ "The Elections". Wanganui Chronicle. Vol. XXX, no. 11606. 1 October 1887. p. 2. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  9. ^ Wilson 1985, pp. 241, 247.
  10. ^ "Obituary". Northern Advocate. 13 December 1920. p. 2. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  11. ^ "Deaths". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LVII, no. 17653. 14 December 1920. p. 1. Retrieved 29 April 2021.

References

edit
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Eden
1876–1887
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Justice
1884–1887
Succeeded by