Joseph Ward (Marlborough politician)

Joseph Ward (1817 – 12 November 1892) was a 19th-century member of parliament from Marlborough, New Zealand.

Ward was born in Staffordshire, England. He emigrated to Nelson in 1842 on the George Fyfe. He travelled with his wife, Martha, and her family; Henry Redwood and Francis Redwood were her brothers. He was a devout catholic. Since 1854, he had lived in Brookby, a locality some 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) south of Renwick.

Ward was a surveyor by trade, and he surveyed parts of the Wairau Valley, and the town and district of Kaikoura. He became a significant who at one point had 50,000 sheep. He joined provincial politics in 1853 when the provinces were set up. For the first five years, he represented the Wairau electorate in the Nelson Provincial Council. When the Marlborough Province split off from Nelson, Ward was elected onto the Marlborough Provincial Council and had continuous representation until the abolition of the provincial system in 1876. Ward's first attempt of getting elected to the general assembly was in the 1872 Wairau by-election, but he was beaten by Arthur Seymour. When Seymour resigned in 1875 prior to a trip to England, Ward won the resulting 1875 by-election and represented the electorate from 21 June to 6 December, when he was defeated for Cheviot.

Ward had been ill for a few months prior to his death, and for the last few days was unconscious. He died on 12 November 1892 at his home. He was survived by his wife, six sons, and two daughters.

Wards Pass, an alpine pass that lies between the valleys of the upper Acheron and Awatere Rivers, was discovered by Ward and his brother-in-law, Cyrus Goulter, in March 1847, and is named after him.

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