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 before becoming a fruit grower in New Zealand.

Early life

Hudson was born in Dungarvan, County 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. He then lived in Ceylon for 23 years, where he had tea and coffee plantations, and where he was chairman of the

Haputale Haputale ( si, හපුතලේ; ta, ஹபுதலே) 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-dive ...

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 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 / Te Tai-o-Aorere. It is the second largest in the Tasman Region, with a population of as of The surrounding ...

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 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. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, 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 inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

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

Karori Cemetery Karori Cemetery is New Zealand's second largest cemetery, located in the Wellington suburb of Karori. History Karori Cemetery opened in 1891 to address overcrowding at Bolton Street Cemetery. In 1909, it received New Zealand's first crema ...

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