FITZGERALD, GERARD GEORGE (1834-1904) was born in England and educated at the Grammar School at Bath, and came to New Zealand in the Castle Eden (1851). The gold diggings attracted him to Victoria, where he spent some years buying and driving cattle to the goldfields, digging and gold buying.

In the early sixties he returned to New Zealand and, on the suggestion of his brother (J. E. FitzGerald, q.v.), established a telegraph news agency for the colony. For a short period he was part owner of the Southland Times, which he gave up to visit the West Coast goldfields. There he renewed his acquaintance with G. S. Sale (q.v.), then Goldfields Commissioner, who got him appointed as magistrate, sheriff, warden and commissioner of crown lands (1867). With headquarters at Hokitika he did a great deal of travelling. In 1879 he contested the Hokitika seat in Parliament against S. George.

About 1880 FitzGerald returned to journalism, at first as the owner of a small paper in Blenheim and then as editor of the Wanganui Chronicle. While at Wanganui he was elected M.H.R. for Hokitika (1881), but after serving for one Parliament he was defeated by J. Bevan (1884). He became editor of the New Zealand Times (Wellington) but resigned a year later to take the editorship of the Timaru Herald, which he controlled until his death (on 7 Jun 1904). He was a lucid writer with pronounced political opinions. FitzGerald married in Westland Miss Kennedy (who was drowned in the Taiaroa in 1886).

Parltry Record; Cycl. N.Z., v; Harrop, Westland; Timaru Herald and Wanganui Chronicle, 8 Jun 1904. Portrait: Parliament House.

Reference: Volume 1, page 145

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