Robert Adam Ritchie (18 October 1836 – 16 August 1891) was a Scottish-born Australian politician. He was born at Paisley in

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...

to dyer John Ritchie and Barbara Henderson. In 1848 his family followed his elder brother to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, and Ritchie worked at a woodmill in

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

managed by his father. He spent eighteen months at the Turon goldfields before becoming an apprentice blacksmith. In 1857 he took over the family business, and opened a new branch at Wickham, also merging with a

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

-based firm. He retired from the business in 1884. On 25 March 1859 he married Jemima Fergus Douglas, with whom he had four children. After her death he remarried Clara Henderson, her sister, and had a further seven children. A Parramatta alderman, Ritchie was elected to the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

in 1889 as the member for Central Cumberland. A

Free Trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...

r, he was re-elected in 1891 but died at

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

shortly afterwards.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ritchie, Robert 1836 births 1891 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Free Trade Party politicians 19th-century Australian politicians Scottish emigrants to colonial Australia