Ebenezer Fox (died 1886), was an English

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

who later settled in Australia and New Zealand. Fox was born in England and practised his profession in the north until he had nearly attained middle age. For several years he was a chief reporter on the ‘

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

.’ His account of the great floods at Holmfirth in 1852 was widely quoted. Delicate health induced Fox to emigrate to Australia. In 1862 he went to

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

and joined the staff of the ‘

Otago Daily Times The ''Otago Daily Times'' (''ODT'') is a newspaper published by Allied Press Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand. The ''ODT'' is one of the country's four main daily newspapers, serving the southern South Island with a circulation of around 26,000 and ...

,’ is associated with

Sir Julius Vogel Sir Julius Vogel (24 February 1835 – 12 March 1899) was the eighth premier of New Zealand. His administration is best remembered for the issuing of bonds to fund railway construction and other public works. He was the first Jewish prime mini ...

and B. L. Farjeon, the novelist. When Vogel established the ‘Sun,’ Fox assisted him. The two friends moved to

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, and soon after Vogel joined William Fox's ministry in 1869 as colonial treasurer, Fox became his private secretary. In 1870 he was appointed a confidential clerk and secretary to the treasury and then later as the Cabinet Secretary, roles which he held simultaneously. After relinquishing the role as cabinet secretary in 1884 he held the position of secretary to the treasury up to his death two years later. For sixteen years he was implicitly trusted by successive ministries. In the columns of '' The New Zealand Times'' Fox wrote a series of articles on the denudation of the forests, which attracted much attention. Fox died of

muscular atrophy Muscle atrophy is the loss of skeletal muscle mass. It can be caused by sedentary lifestyle, immobility, aging, malnutrition, medications, or a wide range of injuries or diseases that impact the musculoskeletal or nervous system. Muscle atrophy le ...

at Wellington in January 1886. A columnist for '' The Bulletin'' noted that ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' had included an obituary of Fox, an infrequent occurrence at the time.

References

Year of birth missing 1843 deaths 19th-century English journalists English male journalists Deaths from muscular dystrophy 19th-century English male writers {{UK-journalist-stub