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Robert Cunningham Bruce (1843 – 23 April 1917) was a Scottish-born sailor, New Zealand politician and conservationist.
Born in 
After working in the goldfields of New Zealand and
East Lothian
East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921.
In 1975, the histo ...
, Scotland, Bruce's family moved to County Cork
County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...
, Ireland, when he was seven years of age. He became an apprentice sailor at 13, leaving London on an East Indiaman
East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...
. He eventually arrived in New Zealand on the ''Blue Jacket
Blue Jacket, or Weyapiersenwah (c. 1743 – 1810), was a war chief of the Shawnee people, known for his militant defense of Shawnee lands in the Ohio Country. Perhaps the preeminent American Indian leader in the Northwest Indian War, i ...
'' in 1860.
After working in the goldfields of New Zealand and Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, he went to the United States where he remained for several years. In 1877 he returned to New Zealand, buying land in Paraekaretu in the Manawatu region.
Bruce was an independent conservative Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
in the Manawatu region of New Zealand. He represented the Rangitikei electorate from to 1890. He contested the in the electorate, but was beaten by the incumbent, George Hutchison. He stood in the 1891 Egmont by-election but was beaten by Felix McGuire.
The Rangitiki electorate, meanwhile, had been won by Douglas Hastings Macarthur
Douglas Hastings Macarthur (1839 – 24 May 1892) was a 19th-century independent conservative Member of Parliament in the Manawatu region of New Zealand.
He represented the Manawatu electorate from 1884 to 1890, and then the Rangitikei e ...
in 1890, but Macarthur died on 24 May 1892. The resulting was won by Bruce. He served until the end of the parliamentary term in 1893 when he retired. He was one of three candidates to contest the new electorate in the , but he was narrowly beaten by John Stevens. He challenged Stevens again in the but was again defeated.
Bruce was a notable pioneer of the Manawatu District, who preserved several native forest remnants, including Bruce Park Scenic Reserve. Late in his life, he wrote a book about his experiences at sea. He died at his homestead Carrick in the Wanganui
Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whangan ...
suburb of St. Johns Hill on 23 April 1917.
Bibliography
*Notes
References
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce, Robert 1843 births 1917 deaths New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates People from East Lothian Scottish emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand conservationists Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Unsuccessful candidates in the 1890 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1896 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1899 New Zealand general election 19th-century New Zealand politicians