Ward, Sir Joseph (1856-1930), a New Zealand politician, served as prime minister of New Zealand twice—from 1906 to 1912 and from 1928 to 1930. Ward also served as a Cabinet minister under three other prime ministers. Under his direction, New Zealand became a dominion (self-governing country) within the British Empire. It had previously been a British colony.
Early life and family.
Joseph George Ward was born to Irish immigrants on April 26, 1856, in Melbourne, Australia. His father, William Ward, died in 1860. His mother, Hannah, married John Barron in 1862. Although the marriage soon failed, she continued to use the name Hannah Ward Barron. She moved to New Zealand with her children in 1863, settling in Campbelltown (now known as Bluff) in the South Island. Hannah established a store and a boarding house that she eventually turned into a hotel. Joseph left school at 13. He went to work first at a post office, then as a store clerk on Campbelltown’s waterfront. In the late 1870’s, he established himself as a merchant, trading grain, wool, and farm supplies. 
On Dec. 4, 1883, Ward married Theresa Dorothea De Smidt (1866?-1927), the daughter of a hotelkeeper. The couple had five children: Cyril Rupert Joseph (1884-1940), Eileen Josephine (1886-1952), Vincent Aubrey (1888-1946), Gladstone William (1891-1965), and Awarua Patrick Joseph George (1901-1961).
Entry into politics.
Ward entered local politics in 1878, when he was elected to the Campbelltown Borough Council. In November 1881, he was elected mayor of Campbelltown. He held the position until 1886.
In 1887, Ward was elected to represent the electorate (voting district) of Awarua in New Zealand’s House of Representatives. At that time, the House was one of two chambers of New Zealand’s Parliament. Ward quickly became known as an excellent speaker. In 1891, Liberal Party head John Ballance became prime minister and appointed Ward as postmaster general and electric telegraph commissioner.
Ballance died in 1893, and Richard Seddon became prime minister. Seddon appointed Ward to several Cabinet offices, including colonial treasurer. However, Ward’s merchant company, which had greatly expanded, had sunk deeply into debt. Ward was forced to resign his portfolios (official Cabinet responsibilities) in July 1896 to look after his company. He spent the next few years attending to his business.
Ward was again elected mayor of Campbelltown in late 1897 and served until 1898. In 1899, Seddon brought him back into the Cabinet as deputy prime minister, colonial secretary, postmaster general, electric telegraph commissioner, and minister of industries and commerce. He was soon entrusted with the additional portfolios of railways and public health.
Ward encouraged the use of both mail and telegraph. Under his direction, New Zealand’s government introduced a universal penny post in 1901. Under the penny post system, letters weighing less than half an ounce (14 grams) could be sent almost anywhere within the British Empire for a uniform rate of one penny. Ward had initially proposed the penny post shortly after he first became postmaster general in 1891. However, working out the details with other parts of the British Empire proved a lengthy process.
In late 1901, Ward was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. He was later made a baronet in 1911 and was promoted to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George in 1930.
First term as prime minister.
Ward was in London for a postal conference when Prime Minister Seddon died on June 10, 1906. Ward, as deputy prime minister, returned to New Zealand and was sworn in as prime minister on August 6. The following year, Ward became a member of the Privy Council, an honorary council appointed by the British monarch.
New Zealand had been a British colony since 1840. At the 1907 Colonial Conference in London, Ward secured approval to change New Zealand’s status from colony to dominion. On September 26, Ward delivered an official proclamation of dominion from the steps of New Zealand’s Parliament in Wellington. He hoped that this change would elevate New Zealand’s status above that of other British colonies. Ultimately, however, it had little impact on New Zealand’s relationship with the rest of the empire.
In 1910, Ward’s government established the National Provident Fund, which created a retirement fund for people with low incomes. The following year, the government introduced a plan to provide pensions to widows with children.
No party won a majority of seats in the December 1911 election. The Liberals stayed in office, but their support was weak. In February, Ward’s government faced a confidence vote. In such a vote, Parlament decides whether to support a matter of importance to the prime minister’s program. Ward’s government won, but only by one vote. Ward resigned as prime minister and head of the Liberal Party on March 28, 1912. He hoped that his successor could draw more support for the party. The Liberals elected Thomas Mackenzie to head the party, and he served as prime minister until July. That month, the Reform Party defeated the Liberals in another vote of confidence.
In 1913, Ward was again elected to head the Liberals in Parliament. In 1915, during World War I, he negotiated bringing the Liberals into Prime Minister William Massey’s war cabinet. A war cabinet is a group of officials that helps determine policy during wartime.
Massey made Ward his minister of finance, postmaster general, and commissioner of telegraphs. Ward held these positions until he withdrew the Liberals from Massey’s Cabinet in 1919. In general elections that December, Ward lost his parliamentary seat.
Later political career.
Ward remained almost entirely out of politics until he won the Invercargill parliamentary seat in the 1925 general election. By that time, many members of the Liberal Party had formed a new party called the National Party. In 1927, members of several political groups, including some former supporters of the Liberal Party, began to organize the new United Party, and Ward became the party’s leader in September 1928.
New Zealand’s economy slumped in the late 1920’s, and the policies of Prime Minister Joseph Gordon Coates fell out of favor. Ward proposed a plan to borrow money from abroad to revitalize the country’s economy. In December 1928, Coates lost a vote of no confidence. The vote indicated that Coates had lost the support of Parliament, and Coates stepped down.
On Dec. 10, 1928, Ward was again chosen to serve as prime minister. However, his economic plans proved impossible to enact, and the country continued sliding toward a depression. Ward also struggled with health problems. Facing pressure from both his family and colleagues, Ward resigned as prime minister on May 28, 1930, though he retained a position as a Cabinet minister without portfolio. He died on July 8.
