Gerald George Fitzgerald

Gerard George Fitzgerald (10 October 1832 – 7 June 1904) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in New Zealand. Like his brother James FitzGerald, he was a journalist of considerable ability, and co-founded The Southland Times in 1862. For the last 19 years of his life, he was editor of The Timaru Herald. Early life Fitzgerald was born in Bath, Somerset, England, on 10 October 1832 and baptised on 6 January 1834 in Walcot, Bath. His father was Gerard Fitzgerald and his mother was Emily Fitzgerald (née Gibbons), the third wife of his father. His paternal grandfather, Richard Fitzgerald, was a member of the Irish House of Commons. His maternal grandfather, Sir John Gibbons, 2nd Baronet, was a member of the British House of Commons. An older half-brother, James FitzGerald (1818–1896), was from his father's second wife. He received his education at the grammar school in Bath. He arrived in Lyttelton on the Castle Eden on 14 February 1851, but left soon after for the Victorian gold rush. In Victoria, he bought and drove cattle to the gold fields, did some prospecting for gold, and acted as gold buyer for Melbourne-based banks. Life in New Zealand He returned to New Zealand in the early 1860s. On the suggestion of his brother, James FitzGerald, who had himself just established The Press in Christchurch, he established a telegraph news agency for New Zealand. In 1862, he was one of the founders of The Southland Times. FitzGerald gave up the proprietorship and joined the Otago Gold Rush, where he met again with George Sale, whom he knew from Victoria. When Sale was appointed Goldfields Commissioner for the gold fields on the West Coast, he offered Fitzgerald the second administrative role on the West Coast in 1867. Fitzgerald accepted and became magistrate, sheriff, warden and commissioner of crown lands, based in Hokitika. In January 1868, he was appointed Registration and Returning Officer. He was the returning officer for elections to Westland County in February 1868, November 1868, July 1870, December 1870, May 1871, and December 1872. He was then returning officer for the elections to Westland Province in January 1874.