Joseph Ivess

Joseph Ivess (8 February 1844 – 4 September 1919) was a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives. He had an association with a large number of newspapers.

Early life and Australia Joseph Ivess was born in Askeaton, County Limerick, Ireland in 1844. His parents were John Pope Ivess and Anne Southwell. The family emigrated to Melbourne, Australia on the barque, Alcyone, leaving Liverpool in September 1852. Four of his obituaries said he attended Barnett's Grammar School in Emerald Hill, but no other sources mention such a school. His father became a police sergeant. In 1864, he married Sarah Ann Reddin at Castlemaine, Victoria. In 1865 a Joseph Ivess, printer, was owed £38 in Maldon. In 1866, he worked on the staff of the Bendigo Independent. and Charles Ivess, a billiard saloon owner in Gisborne.

New Zealand On his arrival in New Zealand in 1868 he began work as the manager, and perhaps printer, of the New Zealand Celt at Hokitika.

Political career

Ivess represented the Inangahua electorate on the Nelson Provincial Council from 21 January 1873 until the abolition of the Provinces on 31 October 1876.

He used his various newspaper interests to increase his name recognition for election purposes. In September 1875, the first hint appeared that he would challenge Harry Atkinson in the electorate at the next general election, although it was clear that he would not stand a chance against the Colonial Treasurer. and Atkinson defeated Ivess by 225 votes to 73.

Ivess was one of the original nine councillors of the Ashburton Borough Council in September 1878. He was beaten by Hugo Friedlander for the Ashburton mayoralty in November 1879. Ivess contested the electorate in South Canterbury in the against Cathcart Wason and Charles Purnell. Ivess petitioned against Wason's election win on numerous grounds. The election petitions court started hearing the case in February 1882. Members were sworn in on 18 May 1882 for the first session of the 8th Parliament. Wason was not present. On the following day, the results of the various election petitions were read out, and the 1881 Wakanui election was declared void. Wason lost his seat in Parliament without having ever taken it. A 16 June 1882 by-election was held, which was contested by Alfred Saunders and Ivess. Ivess and Saunders received 604 and 541 votes, and Ivess was thus declared elected.

In the , Ivess was beaten by John Grigg. Grigg resigned in mid-1885, and this caused the , at which Ivess was re-elected.

Having moved to the North Island, Ivess contested the electorate in the against the incumbent John Davies Ormond, but was beaten. After that, he lived in New South Wales for some years. and in , and (every time beaten by Charles Hardy). He contested the in the electorate as an Independent Liberal, but was eliminated in the first ballot.

Death and commemoration Ivess died on 4 September 1919 in Christchurch, New Zealand and was buried at Linwood Cemetery two days later.

In 1994 Ivess Peak was officially named after Joseph Ivess. At , it is the tallest peak in the Victoria Ranges, between Reefton, Springs Junction and Maruia, in the South Island. Inangahua Herald, Reefton's first newspaper, was founded by Ivess in 1872.