Richard Phineas Hudson (1860 – 2 May 1953) was a Reform Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand. Born in Ireland, he was a tea planter in

British Ceylon British Ceylon ( si, බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය ලංකාව, Britānya Laṃkāva; ta, பிரித்தானிய இலங்கை, Biritthāṉiya Ilaṅkai) was the British Crown colony of present-day Sri Lanka between ...

before becoming a fruit grower in New Zealand.

Early life

Hudson was born in

Dungarvan Dungarvan () is a coastal town and harbour in County Waterford, on the south-east coast of Ireland. Prior to the merger of Waterford County Council with Waterford City Council in 2014, Dungarvan was the county town and administrative centre of ...

County Waterford County Waterford ( ga, Contae Phort Láirge) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region. It is named ...

, Ireland in 1860. He received his education at Wills Grammar School, at Fermoy College, and at Crawford's Military Academy. For seven years, he served in the Royal Artillery Militia and gained the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He then lived in

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

for 23 years, where he had tea and coffee plantations, and where he was chairman of the Haputale Planters' Association. He was credited with uniting the Ceylon tea-growers, them agreeing to pay a tax to an industry body that would be used to market

Ceylon tea Ceylon tea is both the brand of tea which is produced in Sri Lanka and a historic term describing tea from that land. Ceylon tea has been described as not only a geographical descriptor but also a pillar of Sri Lankan culture, heritage and ident ...

in overseas markets.

New Zealand

In 1908, he emigrated to New Zealand. He started growing fruit and within a short time, he held numerous offices. At first, he was president of the Motueka District Fruitgrowers' Union, then president of the Motueka District Fruit-growers' Association, then president of the Nelson District Fruit-growers' Association, before being elected president of the New Zealand Fruit-growers' Federation in September 2013 after only six years in the business. Hudson was a member of the Motueka Harbour Board. He was selected as the candidate of the Reform Party for the Motueka electorate in May 1914. He won the election in December 1914 against the incumbent,

Roderick McKenzie Roderick McKenzie (1852 – 9 October 1934) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for Buller and Motueka, in the South Island. He was a member of the Liberal Party. Biography Early life and career He was born in Ross-shire, Scotland in 1852. ...

of the Liberal Party, and held the electorate to the 1928 election, when he was defeated. The Hudsons left New Zealand in January 1930 to live in Ceylon again.

Family

Hudson was married to Ellen Phyllis Hudson. Their son, Corporal Thomas Henry Hudson, died on 18 May 1916 while on active service in a British army hospital of pneumonia and heart failure. Richard Hudson died in 1953 and was buried at Karori Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hudson, Richard 1860 births 1953 deaths Reform Party (New Zealand) MPs People from Motueka Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates Unsuccessful candidates in the 1928 New Zealand general election Burials at Karori Cemetery New Zealand orchardists Planters of British Ceylon Irish emigrants to New Zealand (before 1923) People from Dungarvan