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 (; ), officially British Settlements and Territories in the Island of Ceylon with its Dependencies from 1802 to 1833, then the Island of Ceylon and its Territories and Dependencies from 1833 to 1931 and finally the Island of Cey ...

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 () 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 Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the city of Waterford. ...

, 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 The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

Militia and gained the rank of

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

. He then lived in

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

for 23 years, where he had tea and coffee plantations, and where he was chairman of the

Haputale Haputale (; ) is a town of Badulla District in the Uva Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. The elevation is 1431 m (4695 ft) above the sea level. The area has a rich bio-diversity dense with numerous varieties of flora an ...

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 Culture of Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan cultur ...

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 Motueka is a town in the South Island of New Zealand, close to the mouth of the Motueka River on the western shore of Tasman Bay. It is the second largest in the Tasman Region, with a population of as of The surrounding district has a numb ...

District Fruitgrowers' Union, then president of the Motueka District Fruit-growers' Association, then president of the

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

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

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 The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, 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 Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

and heart failure. Richard Hudson died in 1953 and was buried at

Karori Cemetery Karori Cemetery is the second-largest cemetery in New Zealand. It opened in 1891, and is located in the Wellington suburb of Karori. History Karori Cemetery opened in 1891 to address overcrowding at Bolton Street Cemetery. In 1909, it recei ...

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 from British Ceylon Irish emigrants to New Zealand People from Dungarvan Politicians from County Waterford