Robert Caldwell Reid

Robert Caldwell Reid (4 February 1839 – 18 March 1897) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament from the West Coast, New Zealand. Born in Scotland and attracted by the gold rushes in Victoria and the West Coast, he was later the proprietor of a series of newspapers.

Early life Reid was born in Wick, Caithness, Scotland, in 1839. His parents were Peter and Mariah Reid (née Caldwell). His family had owned The John O'Groat Journal for two or three generations. Back home, he learned the trade of a banker. which he sold in late 1883 or early 1884. He then joined George McCullagh Reed in business in London, and they published a newspaper, the Anglo-New Zealander, aimed at colonists. That venture failed, and Reid returned to New Zealand, where he owned The Dunedin Herald, the Greymouth Star, and from April 1889 until his death, the Westport News.

Political career

For six months during 1869 (20 March – 22 September), Reid represented the Buller electorate in the Nelson Provincial Council.

Reid sought election to the House of Representatives in the 1876 election, standing for the Hokitika electorate. In the two-member electorate, he came third out of five candidates; the later Premier Richard Seddon came fourth.

He represented the Hokitika electorate from 1879 to 1881, when he was defeated by Gerard George Fitzgerald.

Family and death In 1869, he married Emily Manning, the daughter of James Manning of Dunedin. He was survived by his wife.