Stephen Smith (public servant)
Stephen Smith | |
|---|---|
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| Resident Commissioner of the Cook Islands | |
| In office 1937–1938 | |
| Preceded by | Hugh Ayson |
| Succeeded by | Hugh Ayson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1887 |
| Died | 3 November 1948 Whanganui, New Zealand |
Stephen John Smith (1887 – 3 November 1948) was a New Zealand public administrator. He served as Resident Commissioner of the Cook Islands from 1937 until 1938.
Biography
Born in 1887,[1] Smith entered the New Zealand civil service as a young man. During World War I he was part of the New Zealand-led occupation of Western Samoa, where he rose to the position of secretary to the military governor.[2] After returning to New Zealand, he was deputy head of the Department of External Affairs.[3]
Smith subsequently became Secretary of the Cook Islands Department in New Zealand in 1928.[3] He was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal in 1935,[4] and was appointed as Resident Commissioner of the Cook Islands in 1937. However, the following year he was replaced by his predecessor Hugh Fraser Ayson and returned to New Zealand.[5] He retired from public service shortly afterwards.[6]
He died in Whanganui in November 1948.[2]
References
- ^ Apirana Ngata (2013) Na to Hoa Aroha, from Your Dear FriendAuckland University Press, p288
- ^ a b Death of Mr. S. J. Smith Pacific Islands Monthly, December 1948, p22
- ^ a b Resident Commissioner in Cook Is. Pacific Islands Monthly, June 1937, p6
- ^ "Official jubilee medals". Evening Post. Vol. CXIX, no. 105. 6 May 1935. p. 4. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
- ^ Cook Islands control Pacific Islands Monthly, July 1938, p8
- ^ "S.J.S." retires Pacific Islands Monthly, October 1938, p4