Joseph Colborne-Veel

Joseph Veel Colborne-Veel
Portrait of Joseph Colborne-Veel (year unknown)
Born	1831 Gloucester, England
Died	29 July 1895 Christchurch, New Zealand
Occupation	journalist, educator
Known for	editor of The Press, secretary of education board

Joseph Veel Colborne-Veel (1831 – 29 July 1895) was a journalist and educator in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Early life

Colborne-Veel was born in 1831 in Gloucester, England and received his early education at Kidderminster.^[1] Sources differ whether he graduated in 1856 with honours from Magdalen College, Oxford,^[1][2] or from the adjacent but unrelated Magdalen Hall, Oxford.^[3] He once won an essay competition, beating Stopford Brooke to second place. Brooke later made a career as a writer, but in the essay competition, his style was marked "too flowery", whilst Veel was judged having used "good, straight-forward, sensible English."^[3] In his younger days, he was a successful athlete and once won the lightweight sculls in Oxford.^[4] Once in Christchurch, he frequently appeared in the media as a cricketer.^[5] In his later life, he was a keen chess player.^[4] He married Anne Maria Anstey (1840–1910)^[2] in 1857, who was also from Gloucestershire.^[6]

Life in New Zealand

Immediately after the wedding, they emigrated to New Zealand on the Glentanner, arriving in Lyttelton on 3 October 1857.^[6][7] With strong ties to the Anglican church, he had a letter of introduction with him to James FitzGerald, who had just gone to England as Canterbury's immigration agent (1857–1860), though.^[3][8] Colborne-Veel initially went farming in Linwood and marked exam papers for Christ's College.^[3]

He was editor of the Christchurch newspaper The Press from December 1861 to 1878 with a break of several months during 1868.^[9] In March 1868, he left during a time a deep economic depression to be sub-editor of the Westland Observer, a newspaper run by George Sale.^[10] At The Press, he was replaced by Charles Purnell. Towards the end of that year, the ownership of The Press changed, its publication reverted from three times a week to daily, and Purnell moved on. Colborne-Veel was attracted back as the newspaper's editor by December 1868.^[11]

Following his career as a journalist, education in Canterbury was the area that he was most eager to enhance.^[12] He resigned from The Press in 1878 to become secretary for the education board^[13] was principal of the Christchurch Normal School (1893–1895),^[14] and was a member of the Board of Governors of Canterbury College (1875–1895).^[1][4] He died suddenly during a meeting of the Board of Governors on 29 July 1895.^[15] He was buried at Barbadoes Street Cemetery.^[16] He was survived by his wife, one son, and three daughters; his last residence had been in Montreal Street.^[4][17] His wife died in November 1910.^[6]

Notes

1. Scholefield 1940, p. 417.
2. "Mary Caroline Colborne-Veel, 1861–1923". Christchurch City Libraries. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
3. Christchurch Press Company 1963, p. 28.
4. "J. V. Colborne Veel". The Press LII (9170). 30 July 1895. p. 5. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
5. "Cricket". Lyttelton Times XI (657). 23 February 1859. p. 5. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
6. "Obituary". The Press LXVI (13892). 17 November 1910. p. 6. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
7. "Shipping News". Lyttelton Times VIII (514). 7 October 1857. p. 4. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
8. McIntyre, W. David. "FitzGerald, James Edward". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
9. Christchurch Press Company 1963, pp. 273–276.
10. Christchurch Press Company 1963, pp. 89f.
11. Christchurch Press Company 1963, pp. 91–93.
12. "The Star". The Star (5323). 30 July 1895. p. 2. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
13. Christchurch Press Company 1963, p. 276.
14. Christchurch Press Company 1963, p. 104.
15. "Board of Governors". The Star (5323). 30 July 1895. p. 1. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
16. "Funeral of Mr Colborne-Veel". The Star (5326). 2 August 1895. p. 4. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
17. "The Late Mr Veel". The Press LII (9173). 2 August 1895. p. 5. Retrieved 21 January 2014.

References

• Christchurch Press Company (1963). The Press, 1861–1961; the Story of a Newspaper. Christchurch: Christchurch Press Company.
• Scholefield, Guy, ed. (1940). A Dictionary of New Zealand Biography : M–Addenda (PDF) II. Wellington: Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 21 January 2014.