Alfred Baldey

Alfred Baldey (1836 – 19 August 1924) was a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council representing Liberal Party interests from Southland.

Private life Baldey was born at Brighton, Sussex, England, in 1836. He was educated at Brotherhood Hall Grammar School, Steyning. He returned to England in 1859. He then emigrated to Otago, New Zealand, in 1861. He took up land at Ryal Bush, some 15 km north of Invercargill, and farmed in the area.

Baldey was married, in 1861, to Elizabeth, a daughter of James Laing of Waianiwa, Southland. They had three sons and four daughters. The Press in Christchurch even pondered in an editorial:

Now everybody is asking, who is Mr. Baldey M.L.C.?

It was speculated that Baldey was not, in fact, appointed by Richard Seddon, but rather by the fellow Southland politician Joseph Ward, who was Colonial Secretary at that time and of whose company 'J. G. Ward Company' Baldey was a director. Baldey died on 19 August 1924 at his home on The Terrace, Wellington.