James FitzGerald (New Zealand politician)
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Date: 2022-01-21

James FitzGerald (New Zealand politician), by Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1010867 / CC BY SA 3.0

#1818_births
#1896_deaths
#Alumni_of_Christ's_College,_Cambridge
#Members_of_the_New_Zealand_House_of_Representatives
#Members_of_the_Canterbury_Provincial_Council
#Superintendents_of_New_Zealand_provincial_councils
#Members_of_the_Cabinet_of_New_Zealand
#British_politicians_of_then-British_possessions
#New_Zealand_public_servants
#New_Zealand_trade_unionists
James Edward FitzGerald （4 March 1818 – 2 August 1896） was a New Zealand politician.
According to some historians, he should be considered the country's first premier, although a more conventional view is that neither he nor his successor （Thomas Forsaith） should properly be given that title.
He was a notable campaigner for New Zealand self-governance.
He was the first Superintendent of the Canterbury Province.
FitzGerald was born on 4 March 1818 in Bath, England.
His parents, Gerald FitzGerald and Katherine O'Brien, were Irish, and FitzGerald is known to have cherished his connection with Ireland.
Both his grandfathers, Colonel Richard Fitzgerald and Sir Lucius O'Brien, were MPs in the Irish House of Commons.
He was educated first in Bath, and then at Christ's College of the University of Cambridge.
He initially sought a commission in the Royal Engineers, but poor eyesight made this impossible.
Instead, he began working for the British Museum's Antiquities department, and became the museum's Assistant Secretary.
FitzGerald gradually became concerned with the alleviation of poverty, an interest spurred by the problems of the Great Famine of Ireland.
His suggested solution to poverty was emigration to the colonies, where more opportunities might exist for prosperity.
As such, he became heavily involved in the promotion and planning of new colonies.
In 1849, he became secretary of the Canterbury Association, responsible for the Anglican settlement at Christchurch, New Zealand.
The settlement was wel...