Robert Heaton Rhodes (1815 – 1 June 1884) was a New Zealand politician, who represented the

Akaroa Akaroa is a small town on Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand, situated within a harbour of the same name. The name Akaroa is Kāi Tahu Māori for "Long Harbour", which would be spelled in standard ...

electorate from 1871 to 1874, when he resigned. He was elected unopposed in 1871. Born in 1815 in Rotherham, in the English county of Yorkshire, he followed his brothers, including

William Barnard Rhodes William Barnard Rhodes (1807? – 11 February 1878), casually referred to as Barney Rhodes, was a New Zealand landowner, pastoralist, businessman and politician. He was probably born in Lincolnshire, England, but took up a career at sea at an ...

, to New Zealand in 1850, having worked in Australia. He lived at

Purau Purau is a small town in Canterbury, New Zealand, facing Lyttelton Harbour. Geography Purau is located on Banks Peninsula, one of the southern bays forming Lyttelton Harbour. History Purau has a long history of Māori settlement. Ngāti Mā ...

and managed properties on

Banks Peninsula Banks Peninsula is a peninsula of volcanic origin on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It has an area of approximately and encompasses two large harbours and many smaller bays and coves. The South Island's largest cit ...

belonging to the Rhodes brothers. He built a large house in Christchurch, ''Elmwood'', where he died. He was a founder of several early business enterprises, including the New Zealand Shipping Company and the

Kaiapoi Woollen Manufacturing Company Kaiapoi is a town in the Waimakariri District of the Canterbury region, in the South Island of New Zealand. The town is located approximately 17 kilometres north of central Christchurch, close to the mouth of the Waimakariri River. It is co ...

. On 24 August 1853, Rhodes stood in the Akaroa electorate for a position in the House of Representatives but was beaten by William Sefton Moorhouse. On 31 August 1853, Rhodes stood in the Akaroa electorate for one of two positions on the Canterbury Provincial Council. Rhodes won the election but there was a draw for second place and the returning officer gave his casting vote to Rev. William Aylmer, meaning that Moorhouse was not elected. A short time later, Moorhouse stood in the same electorate for the House of Representatives and was successful. His eldest son Sir Heaton Rhodes (1861–1956) had a long Parliamentary career.

References

*''George Rhodes of the Levels and his brothers'' by A.E. Woodhouse (1937, Whitcombe & Tombs, Auckland)
''The Rhodes Brothers'' from the 1966 Encyclopaedia of New Zealand

External links

''Elmwood'' in 1899
now the site of

Heaton Normal Intermediate Heaton may refer to: People * Heaton (surname) * Sir Heaton Rhodes (1861–1956), New Zealand politician and lawyer * HeatoN, pseudonym of Emil Christensen (born 1984), Swedish ''Counter-Strike'' player Places Great Britain * Heaton, Greater Man ...

1815 births 1884 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates Members of Canterbury provincial executive councils Unsuccessful candidates in the 1853 New Zealand general election English emigrants to New Zealand People from Rotherham 19th-century New Zealand politicians Moorhouse–Rhodes family {{NewZealand-politician-stub