Sir John Roberts (October 1845 – 13 September 1934) founder and managing partner of Murray Roberts & Co was a New Zealand businessman and runholder of the last quarter of the 19th century and the first quarter of the following century. He brought his family woollen business to New Zealand initially by opening a

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

branch of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

's (and

Galashiels Galashiels (; , ) is a town in the Scottish Borders with a population of around 12,600. Its name is often colloquially shortened to "Gala". The town is a major commercial centre for the Borders region with extensive history in the textile in ...

') Sanderson Murray following that in 1873 by floating a public company to buy Mosgiel Woollen Mill established two years earlier by Arthur J Burns. He was appointed first chairman of its owners at the age of 28 and remained chairman until he died. Founder A J Burns, a grand-nephew of the great poet, was also a director. By this time Sanderson had withdrawn from the partnership and his place had been taken by young William Murray who was two years younger than Roberts. At the end of the 19th century Murray Roberts was New Zealand's second largest wool exporter and Sanderson Murray & Co in London was ranked as the third largest importer of wool in the United Kingdom. Roberts also found time to serve his community as

Mayor of Dunedin The mayor of Dunedin is the head of the local government, the city council of Dunedin, New Zealand. The mayor's role is "to provide leadership to the other elected members of the territorial authority, be a leader in the community and perform c ...

and earlier as a member of the

Otago Provincial Council The Otago Province was a Provinces of New Zealand, province of New Zealand until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. The capital of the province was Dunedin. Southland Province split from Otago in 1861, but became part of the provin ...

Scotland

John Roberts was born in October 1845 in Selkirk Scotland the fourth son of a woollen mill owner, George Roberts, for many years provost of that town and his wife Agnes Fowler. He was educated at

Cheltenham Grammar School Pate's Grammar School is a grammar school with Academy (English school), academy status in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. It caters for pupils aged 11 to 18. The school was founded with a fund bestowed to Corpus Christi College, Oxford, ...

, the

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in Stockbridge, Edinburgh, Stockbridge, is now part of the Senior Scho ...

and at The Edinburgh Institution, Queen Street. On leaving school in 1862 Roberts entered his father's Selkirk firm, George Roberts & Co. Two years later he arrived in

where he was employed in

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

management and business in the Australian branch of

wool merchants John Sanderson & Co with which he had close family connections. In 1868 with four years experience in Australia he was sent to open a New Zealand branch in

Career in New Zealand

On 26 January 1870, he married Louisa Jane, second daughter of the surveyor who laid out Dunedin, Charles Kettle, and they had at least nine children. As a

Stock and station agent Stock and station agencies are businesses which provide a support service to the agricultural community. Their staff who deal with clients are known as stock and station agents.In his book Simon Ville states: "The term stock and station agent is v ...

Sir John Roberts took a keen interest in agricultural and pastoral matters and was a leading promoter and a life governor of the Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Association. In addition to his interest in Mosgiel Woollen he was an original director and for many years chairman of New Zealand's pioneer refrigerated meat export business founded in 1881, New Zealand Refrigerating Company Limited. He was deputy chairman of Union Steamship Company, when he retired in 1914 the biggest shipping line in the southern hemisphere. For two years he was a director of

Colonial Bank of New Zealand The Colonial Bank of New Zealand was a trading bank headquartered in Dunedin, New Zealand which operated independently for more than 20 years. A public company listed on the local stock exchanges it was owned and controlled by New Zealand entre ...

from which he retired in 1891 before it was saved and swallowed during an 1895 crisis by the

Bank of New Zealand Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) is one of New Zealand's Big Four (banking)#New Zealand, big four banks. It has been operating since October 1861, and since 1992 has been owned by National Australia Bank (NAB), retaining local governance with a New Z ...

. As well as serving as Dunedin's mayor (1889–1890), Roberts' participation in the life of the community included service in these public institutions: president of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce, the Otago University committee including chairman of its finance committee, representing Kaikorai in the

from June 1873 until its abolition in October 1876 and representing Deep Stream riding in the Taieri County

Council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

. For his presidency of the 1889 Dunedin Exhibition he was awarded a companionship of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

in the 1891 New Year Honours. He was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in the 1920 King's Birthday Honours. The freedom of his native town Selkirk was conferred on him in 1932. He died in Dunedin on 13 September 1934 at age 88. His wife had died in 1922. Littlebourne House stables Dunedin 4

Legacy

When Roberts died he left his 30-room mansion Littlebourne House, set in 4 acres of land, to the city for the use of the Governor-General, but the Government declined to furnish it, and the Governor-General never used it. The property was used by the military during the Second World War, and as a student hostel, before being demolished in 1949. The site is now Roberts Park sports ground. In 2016, Roberts was posthumously inducted into the

New Zealand Business Hall of Fame The New Zealand Business Hall of Fame is a figurative hall of fame dedicated to New Zealanders who have made a significant contribution to the economic and social development of New Zealand. The hall was established in 1994 by the Young Enterpri ...

References

External links

1933 photo of Roberts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, John 1845 births 1934 deaths New Zealand Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George New Zealand Knights Bachelor Mayors of Dunedin Members of the Otago Provincial Council People from Selkirk, Scottish Borders Scottish emigrants to New Zealand 19th-century New Zealand businesspeople 20th-century New Zealand businesspeople