Charles Dudley Robert Ward (9 July 1827 – 30 August 1913), known as Dudley Ward, was a New Zealand judge and a Member of Parliament. His first wife, Anne Ward, was a prominent

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vo ...

and served as the first president of the New Zealand Women's Christian Temperance Union. His second wife, Frances Ellen "Thorpe" Talbot Ward, was a journalist and travel writer who also supported women's suffrage.

Family and education

Ward was born at sea on board HMS ''Primrose'' in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

on 9 July 1827. He was the eldest son of diplomat, politician, and later governor of Ceylon, Sir Sir Henry George Ward

GCMG The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

and Emily Swinburne, and a cousin of William Ward and

William George Ward William George Ward (21 March 1812 – 6 July 1882) was an English theologian and mathematician. A Roman Catholic convert, his career illustrates the development of religious opinion at a time of crisis in the history of English religious thoug ...

. He was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

and at

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street, Oxford, Broad Street and Parks Road ...

(though not being awarded a degree) and completed his legal education at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

being called to the Bar in 1853. His grandfathers were

Robert Plumer Ward Robert Ward, or from 1828 Robert Plumer Ward (19 March 1765 – 13 August 1846), was an English barrister, politician, and novelist. George Canning said that his law books were as pleasant as novels, and his novels as dull as law books. Life He ...

and

Sir John Swinburne, 6th Baronet Sir John Edward Swinburne, 6th Baronet (6 March 1762 – 26 September 1860) was an English politician and patron of the arts. Life He was born at Bordeaux. The Swinburne baronets, Swinburne family of Capheaton Hall was traditionally Roman Catholi ...

A career in New Zealand

Ward was married on 26 January 1850, at

Rotherhithe Rotherhithe ( ) is a district of South London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, with the Isle of Dogs to the ea ...

, to Anne Titboald, who was born in

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

. After his admission to the bar, the Wards set out for New Zealand, arriving on 29 September 1854 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 ...

on the ''Cordelia''. The following year, he successfully stood for election to the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

2nd New Zealand Parliament The 2nd New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. It opened on 15 April 1856, following New Zealand's 1855 election. It was dissolved on 5 November 1860 in preparation for 1860–61 election. The 2nd Parliament was th ...

representing the Wellington Country electorate from 15 November 1855. Ward resigned on 22 March 1858 before the end of the term. He did not serve in any subsequent Parliaments.

Judiciary

On 1 June 1857, 18 months after his election to Parliament, Ward was appointed chairman of the Courts of Sessions of the Peace for the Province of Wellington and presiding judge of the Magistrate's Courts for

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 ...

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 ...

and

Wanganui Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest nav ...

. On 1 January 1864, he was given a two-year appointment as Resident Magistrate at

, the capital. The remainder of his career was appointments as District Judge for a series of individual provinces until, after more than 49 years service, his retirement in March 1906, aged almost 79, on a pension of £800 per annum.

Supreme Court

Ward was appointed Acting Supreme Court Judge on four occasions: September 1867 Dunedin; September 1886 Auckland; September 1887 Christchurch; March 1894 Dunedin again. He had been involved in the parliamentary ''Ward-Chapman'' enquiry of 1874–75 after he laid certain charges of gross partiality against Justice Chapman of the Supreme Court. Chapman retired in 1875. Ward declined a permanent appointment on the Supreme Court bench in June 1896, the offer being received just after the death of his wife, and he declined an Acting Supreme Court judgeship in the following year.

Private life and second wife

Ward was a tall man of strong build. He stood tall and weighed . In the 1880s and 1890s, the Wards had a house in the

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

suburb of Burwood; it was said that they "scarcely spoke to each other". Later, they had a house in Park Terrace in the

Christchurch Central City Christchurch Central City or Christchurch City Centre is the geographical centre and the heart of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is defined as the area within the Four Avenues (Bealey Avenue, Fitzgerald Avenue, Moorhouse Avenue and Deans Aven ...

. He is rumoured to have had several mistresses and Judge Chapman wrote about him: Ward's first wife Anne Ward died in Christchurch on 31 May 1896 and was buried at Burwood Cemetery. Ward bought a house in the

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 ...

suburb of

Maori Hill Māori Hill is a residential suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located at the northern end of the ridge which runs in a crescent around the central city's western edge, to the northwest of the city centre, immediately above and ...

for one of his mistresses, the writer Frances Ellen Talbot, better known under her pseudonym Thorpe Talbot (1851–1923). The house was held in the name of a farmer who Ward knew, and within a month of his wife's death, Ward's name was added to the

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

. On 6 January 1902, Ward and Talbot were married at that house, and Ward lived in it for the rest of his life.

Death

Dudley Ward died at his residence in Dunedin on 30 August 1913 aged 86. There were no children from either marriage. His widow sent his body to Christchurch to be buried next to his first wife. The gravestone reads: His second wife was removed from her home after her husband's death and became impoverished. She died in Dunedin 1923.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Charles Dudley Robert 1827 births 1913 deaths District Court of New Zealand judges Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives People educated at Rugby School Members of the Inner Temple Burials at Burwood Cemetery, Christchurch New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Colony of New Zealand judges 19th-century New Zealand politicians Sheriffs of New Zealand People born at sea