Stephen Smith (resident commissioner)

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.

Stephen Smith
Resident Commissioner of the Cook Islands
In office
1937–1938
Preceded byHugh Ayson
Succeeded byHugh Ayson
Personal details
Born1887
Died3 November 1948
Whanganui, New Zealand

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
  1. Apirana Ngata (2013) Na to Hoa Aroha, from Your Dear FriendAuckland University Press, p288
  2. Death of Mr. S. J. Smith Pacific Islands Monthly, December 1948, p22
  3. Resident Commissioner in Cook Is. Pacific Islands Monthly, June 1937, p6
  4. "Official jubilee medals". Evening Post. Vol. CXIX, no. 105. 6 May 1935. p. 4. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  5. Cook Islands control Pacific Islands Monthly, July 1938, p8
  6. "S.J.S." retires Pacific Islands Monthly, October 1938, p4
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