Arthur Montague "Joe" Ongley (21 June 1882 – 17 October 1974) was a New Zealand lawyer, politician, and cricket and

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player and administrator. Born in Oamaru, he later lived in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, Napier, and

Hokitika Hokitika is a town in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island, south of Greymouth, and close to the mouth of the Hokitika River. It is the seat and largest town in the Westland District. The town's estimated population is as of ...

, before settling in

Feilding Feilding is a town in the Manawatū District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on New Zealand State Highway 54, State Highway 54, 20 kilometres north of Palmerston North. The town is the seat of the Manawatū District Council. ...

. He excelled in a number of sports and Ongley Park in

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; , colloquially known as Palmerston or Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatū Plains, the city is near the north bank of the Manaw ...

, used for cricket and rugby, is named for him. His most notable sporting activity was as a cricketer, and he played four

first-class matches First class (or 1st class, Firstclass) generally implies a high level of service, importance or quality. Specific uses of the term include: Books and comics * ''First Class'', a comic strip in ''The Dandy'' (1983-1998) * ''X-Men: First Class' ...

. He served as an administrator on the

New Zealand Cricket Council New Zealand Cricket, formerly the New Zealand Cricket Council, is the governing body for professional cricket in New Zealand. Cricket is the most popular and highest profile summer sport in New Zealand. New Zealand Cricket operates the New Z ...

and was the organisation's president. He was a solicitor and then barrister in Feilding, and became Crown Solicitor in Palmerston North. He was a member of the Feilding Borough council and was the town's mayor from 1913 to 1919.

Early life

Ongley was born in

Oamaru Oamaru (; ) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast; State Highway 1 (New Zealand), Sta ...

, the son of a gardener, Frederick Ongley (died 1944 in

) and his wife, Mary Ann Ongley (née Mullin). His father, born in

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

, arrived in 1872 and settled in Oamaru, where his parents married in 1877. Frederick "Fred" William Ongley (1879–1969), a judge at the Compensation Court, was an elder brother. The geologist

Mont Ongley Montague Ongley (10 December 1888 – 6 March 1976) was a New Zealand geologist and scientific administrator. He was born in Oamaru, Otago, New Zealand in 1888 and received his education at Waitaki Boys' High School, where the rector pioneered ...

(1888–1976) was a younger brother. He attended

St. Patrick's College, Wellington St Patrick's College is a Roman Catholic boys' secondary school in Wellington, New Zealand. History Founded by Archbishop Francis Redwood SM, St Patrick's opened on 1 June 1885 with nine day-boys and twelve boarders. The college represent ...

Sport

Ongley excelled at a number of sports, and in sports circles was known as "Joe". While living in

, he became champion at both local tennis clubs.

Cricket career

Ongley learned his cricket in Oamaru. After his time in Wellington, he moved to Napier, where he was coached by

Albert Trott Albert Edwin Trott (6 February 1873 – 30 July 1914) was a Test cricketer for both Australia and England. He was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1899. He is believed to be the only batsman to have struck a ball over the t ...

and represented

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...

in two first-class matches in 1901–02. He then moved to

in Westland, where, playing for the

team in local cricket in 1902–03, he took 55 wickets with his leg-spin for only 147 runs. Representing a Westland XXII against Lord Hawke's XI that season, on a matting pitch in

Greymouth Greymouth () (Māori language, Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast List of regions in New Zealand, region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The populat ...

, he took 8 for 36 off 23 overs, bowling unchanged throughout the innings, and dismissed the English team for 69 in the first innings after Westland had made 111. The New Zealand Prime Minister

Richard Seddon Richard John Seddon (22 June 1845 – 10 June 1906) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 15th premier (prime minister) of New Zealand from 1893 until his death. In office for thirteen years, he is to date New Zealand's longest-ser ...

, who was also Hokitika's member of parliament, sent Ongley a telegram of congratulations. Noting Ongley's accuracy and his ability to turn the ball either way, the English batsman

Pelham Warner Sir Pelham Francis Warner, (2 October 1873 – 30 January 1963), affectionately and better known as Plum Warner or "the Grand Old Man" of English cricket, was a Test cricketer and cricket administrator. He was knighted for services to sport ...

suggested he be considered for the New Zealand team to play Lord Hawke's XI. He was selected for the South Island team against Lord Hawke's XI a few weeks later but bowled only six overs for one wicket. Ongley moved back to the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

, this time to

. He represented Manawatu at cricket from 1906 to 1935. He played in the first-ever match in the

Hawke Cup The Hawke Cup is a non-first-class cricket competition for New Zealand's district associations. Apart from 1910–11, 1912–13 and 2000–01 the competition has always been on a challenge basis. To win the Hawke Cup, the challengers must beat ...

in December 1910, bowling unchanged through both innings and taking 5 for 13 and 7 for 84 in Manawatu's victory over

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service t ...

. He was a member of the Manawatu team that held the Hawke Cup from February 1928 to March 1930. He served as President of the

. He was a fervent advocate for the interests of the Minor Associations of New Zealand cricket from 1923 until finally, in 1950–51, the Central Districts team was admitted to the

Plunket Shield New Zealand has had a domestic first-class cricket championship since the 1906–07 season. Since the 2009–10 season it has been known by its original name of the Plunket Shield. History The Plunket Shield competition was instigated in Octo ...

. He was president of the

Central Districts Cricket Association The Central Stags, formerly known as Central Districts, are a first-class cricket team based in central New Zealand. They are the men's representative side of the Central Districts Cricket Association. They compete in the Plunket Shield firs ...

from 1949 to 1955 and was known as the father of Central Districts cricket.

Rugby career

Ongley represented

North Otago North Otago is an area in New Zealand that covers the area of the Otago region between Shag Point and the Waitaki River, and extends inland to the west as far as the village of Omarama (which has experienced rapid growth as a developing centre f ...

, Hokitika and Manawatu at rugby union. In 1938 he became president of the

New Zealand Rugby Union New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it b ...

. Ongley Park in

is named after him.

Legal career

Ongley joined the clerical staff at the courthouse in Palmerston North in August 1904, having come from

. He qualified as a solicitor in 1906, when he was admitted by the Chief Justice,

Robert Stout Sir Robert Stout (28 September 1844 – 19 July 1930) was a New Zealand politician who was the 13th premier of New Zealand on two occasions in the late 19th century, and later Chief Justice of New Zealand. He was the only person to hold both ...

, during a sitting of the Supreme Court in Palmerston North, and resigned from the court staff and set himself up as a solicitor in Darragh's building in Feilding facing Manchester Square. At the same time, he moved from Palmerston North to Feilding. He qualified as a barrister in 1911. He became Crown Solicitor in

. He was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the

1959 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1959 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 30 December 1958 to cele ...

in recognition of his services to the law.

Political career

Ongley was a member of the borough council at Feilding; he joined the council elected unopposed when a vacancy occurred in September 1910. At the biennial election in April 1911, he was confirmed as one of the nine borough councillors. The day after his wedding, he started his election campaign for mayor, challenging the incumbent mayor, Edmund Goodbehere. After a strong contest and a record voter turnout, Ongley defeated the incumbent on 30 April 1913 by five votes (658 votes to 653). He was Mayor of Feilding from 1913 to 1919. In the 1915 mayoral election, he was returned elected unopposed.

Personal life

On 26 March 1913, Ongley married Nora Crina Lynch at St Patrick's Church at

. She was the daughter of J. Lynch of Kildare, Duke Street, Palmerston North.

Jimmy Nash James Alfred Nash (27 July 1871 – 24 July 1952), known as Jimmy Nash, was a Reform Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand and a Mayor of Palmerston North. Biography Nash was born in 1871 in Foxton to Ann Ellen Webster and Norman ...

, the

Mayor of Palmerston North The mayor of Palmerston North is the head of the municipal government of Palmerston North, New Zealand, and presides over the Palmerston North City Council. The current mayor is Grant Smith (politician), Grant Smith, who became mayor in a Februa ...

, was the master of ceremonies at their reception. They had two sons and a daughter.Arthur Montague Ongley
Retrieved 11 September 2015. Their son Joe played cricket for

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, was the inaugural captain of

Central Districts The Central Stags, formerly known as Central Districts, are a first-class cricket team based in central New Zealand. They are the men's representative side of the Central Districts Cricket Association. They compete in the Plunket Shield firs ...

, became a judge of the

New Zealand Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New Zealand () is the highest court and the court of last resort of New Zealand. It formally came into being on 1 January 2004 and sat for the first time on 1 July 2004. It replaced the right of appeal to the Judicial Co ...

, and was knighted.

References

External links

Arthur Ongley
at CricketArchive

at

ESPNcricinfo ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ongley, Arthur 1882 births 1974 deaths New Zealand cricketers Hawke's Bay cricketers 20th-century New Zealand lawyers Cricketers from Oamaru North Otago rugby union players Manawatu rugby union players New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand cricket administrators New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire Mayors of places in Manawatū-Whanganui New Zealand Rugby Football Union officials People educated at St Patrick's College, Wellington People from Feilding Rugby union players from Oamaru