Richard John Barton II (27 December 1879 – 26 May 1931) was a New Zealand pastoralist, runholder, businessman and author in the early 20th century in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

and the

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service t ...

Life

Early life

Richard John Barton was born on 27 December 1879 at Trentham ( The Barton Estate) in the Upper Hutt Valley. His family owned generous landholdings in the Hutt Valley and the Wairarapa due to his grandfather

Richard Barton Richard Barton (30 August 1790 – 20 August 1866) was the first European resident of Trentham, New Zealand, Trentham, Upper Hutt, in New Zealand. He was born in Newport, Isle of Wight, England. He was a Justice of the peace, Justice of the Pe ...

being a pioneer settler in New Zealand. His father John Barton inherited the properties of Trentham, Whiterock and other farming stations in the Wellington region. The Barton family were early farmers in the region as well as Wairarapa during the late 19th century.

Education

With prosperous estates, Barton was educated at the

Wanganui Collegiate School Whanganui Collegiate School is a state-integrated, coeducational, day and boarding secondary school located in Whanganui, in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. Affiliated with the Anglican Church, it is the third oldest school in ...

, a colonial boarding school established by

Sir George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Gov ...

. Barton was educated here during the tenure of Walter Empson, an Oxford Alumni who became Headmaster.

Marriage

In 1906 he married Georgina Hector, the daughter of Sir

James Hector Sir James Hector (16 March 1834 – 6 November 1907) was a Scottish-New Zealand geologist, naturalist, and surgeon who accompanied the Palliser Expedition as a surgeon and geologist. He went on to have a lengthy career as a government employed ...

, at St Augustine's Church, Petone. After the wedding a reception was held at Sir James Hector's home, Ratanui. They went on to have five sons and one daughter.

Business

Farming

Like his father and grandfather, Barton became a pastoralist and was engaged in the family farms at Trentham and in the Wairarapa. In the 1890s the Barton family bought the coastal portion of the Mataikona Station from John Johnston. In 1899 he became manager of the Mataikona in the east coast of the Wairarapa before becoming part of the family partnership in 1915, supervising the run. He extended the farms up towards the Upper plains, known as "Tapia". Some time between 1904 and 1906 Barton offered to sell the Wellington Golf Club 48.5 hectares of their Heretaunga/Trentham farm which is now the Royal Wellington Golf Club.

Associations and clubs

Barton was associated with many of Wairarapa's foundation business societies including: * President of the Masterton A. and P. Association. * Member of the Wairarapa Provincial Executive of the Farmers Union. * Member of the Masterton-Waipukarau Railway League. Barton was a foundation member of the Tinui-Wahatahi Rifle Club and a member of the Opaki Rifle Club. He was also a mountaineer, with his name given to "Barton's Track" over Mitre Peak in the

Tararua Range The Tararua Range, often referred to as the Tararua Ranges or Tararua, is one of several mountain ranges in the North Island of New Zealand. The Tararua Range runs northeast–southwest for from near Palmerston North to the upper reaches of ...

Author

In 1927 Barton published a compilation of the journals and correspondence of Reverend

John Gare Butler John Gare Butler (March 1781 – 18 June 1841) was the first ordained clergyman to reside in New Zealand with the Church Missionary Society (CMS). In 1818 he was ordained as a priest by the Bishop of Gloucester. Butler and the Māori workers ...

, who was his great grand-father. The book was titled ''"Earliest New Zealand"'' and described Butler's pioneer missionary work in the

Bay of Islands The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for ...

from 1819 to 1824 prior to the signing of the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...

. The compilation took over 15 years, including research from the Early Missionary records of the

Hocken Library Hocken Collections (, formerly the Hocken Library) is a research library, historical archive, and art gallery based in Dunedin, New Zealand. Its library collection, which is of national significance, is administered by the University of Otago. ...

in Otago, and the Turnbull Library in Wellington. The book was dedicated to his father John Barton for ''"careful custody of old family papers"''. During this time it was also noted that he gifted the following items to the Hocken Library in Otago: * A letter from the Rev.

Samuel Marsden Samuel Marsden (25 June 1765 – 12 May 1838) was an English-born priest of the Church of England in Australia and a prominent member of the Church Missionary Society. He played a leading role in bringing Christianity to New Zealand. Marsden w ...

to the Rev.

John Butler John Butler may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John "Picayune" Butler (died 1864), American banjo performer; may have been used by a number of performers * John Butler (artist) (1890–1976), American artist * John Butler (author) (born 1937), ...

, dated 1823 and written from Keri Keri in the Bay of Islands. * A volume of psalms and hymns published in 1828 by Rev.

Death

Richard John Barton died suddenly on 26 May 1931 at the age of 51. A telegraph of his obituary was published in the Evening Post within a day and it was noted he was "well known in the Wellington and Wairarapa district".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barton, Richard John People from Upper Hutt 1879 births 1931 deaths 20th-century New Zealand farmers People educated at Whanganui Collegiate School