Sir Robert James Kerridge (30 October 1901 – 26 April 1979) was a New Zealand businessman, cinema proprietor, film distributor, tourism promoter and entrepreneur.
Kerridge was born in
Christchurch
Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
, New Zealand, on 30 October 1901. He developed a theatre chain that owned or controlled 133 cinemas, the biggest exhibition chain in New Zealand or Australia. In 1946, Kerridge sold 50 per cent of his cinema chain to the
J. Arthur Rank Organisation of London, netting the vendors almost £1 million, and a
Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to:
* Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct
Automobiles
* Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
car for Kerridge. The chain was renamed Kerridge Odeon.
In the
1962 Queen's Birthday Honours, Kerridge 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 ...
, for public services. He was buried at
Purewa Cemetery in the Auckland suburb of
Meadowbank. In 1995, Kerridge 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
1901 births
1979 deaths
20th-century New Zealand businesspeople
Businesspeople from Christchurch
New Zealand Knights Bachelor
Burials at Purewa Cemetery
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