William Hall-Jones
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The Honourable Sir William Hall-Jones KCMG |
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| 16th Prime Minister of New Zealand | |
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In office 10 June 1906 – 6 August 1906 |
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| Monarch | Edward VII |
| Governor | William Plunket |
| Preceded by | Richard Seddon |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Ward |
| Constituency | Timaru |
| 2nd High Commissioner to the United Kingdom | |
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In office 1908–1912 |
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| Preceded by | William Pember Reeves |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Mackenzie |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
16 January 1851 Folkestone, Kent, England |
| Died | 19 June 1936 (aged 85) Wellington, New Zealand |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse(s) | Fanny Smith Rosalind Lucy Purss |
| Children | Fred Hall-Jones |
| Religion | Anglican |
Sir William Hall-Jones KCMG (16 January 1851 – 19 June 1936) was the 16th Prime Minister of New Zealand from June 1906 until August 1906. He was the interim Prime Minister after the death of Richard Seddon and the return from overseas of Joseph Ward. Hall-Jones was a mild mannered man with a fully earned reputation as an outstanding administrator. Prime Minister Richard Seddon famously said of him; "He is the best administrator I have in my Cabinet".
Hall-Jones was born in Folkestone, Kent, England, landed at Dunedin in 1873 and became a carpenter and later a builder in Timaru. He developed an interest in local politics serving on the Timaru Borough Council from 1884 to 1886, and again from 1890 to 1892.
The death of Richard Turnbull triggered a by-election 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 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, Sir George Grey and John McKenzie. He joined the Liberal caucus and in 1891 became the party whip alongside Westby Perceval.
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