Colonel Robert Trimble (1824 – 5 September 1899) was an Irish-born New Zealand politician and judge who served as a Member of Parliament.

Early life

Trimble was born near

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, in 1824. He did his apprenticeship as a spinner at

Sion Mills Sion Mills is a village to the south of Strabane in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, on the River Mourne. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 2,050 people. It is a tree-lined industrial village and designated conservation area, particul ...

. He emigrated to the United States at age 21, where he remained for two or three years. While there, he was exposed to

William Henry Channing William Henry Channing (May 25, 1810 – December 23, 1884) was an American Unitarian clergyman, writer and philosopher. Early life William Henry Channing was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Channing's father, Francis Dana Channing, died when he w ...

unitarianism Unitarianism () is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian sect of Christianity. Unitarian Christians affirm the wikt:unitary, unitary God in Christianity, nature of God as the singular and unique Creator deity, creator of the universe, believe that ...

, which he adopted instead of his

presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

upbringing. He then moved to

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and then to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, where he worked for the American linen commission merchants Watson and Co. In 1856, he married Jane Heywood of Manchester. She was the eldest daughter of

Abel Heywood Abel Heywood (25 February 1810 – 19 August 1893) was an English publisher, Radicalism (historical), radical and mayor of Manchester. Early life Abel was born into a poor family in Prestwich, who moved to Manchester after Heywood's father ...

, who at the time was an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

and later became the Mayor of Manchester. Their son, William Hayward Trimble, became the first librarian at the

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

. While in Manchester, Robert became interested in the volunteer movement which caused him to join the

Liverpool Irish The Liverpool Irish is a unit of the British Army's Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army, raised in 1860 as a Volunteer Force (Great Britain), volunteer corps of infantry. Conversion to an anti-aircraft regiment occurred in 1947, but th ...

. He then joined the 15th Lancashire Artillery Volunteers, where he financed an additional battery. He was appointed lieutenant-colonel and upon leaving Manchester, was promoted to honorary colonel. The leading personalities of Manchester attended his leaving dinner in 1875. Trimble settled with his family near

Inglewood Inglewood may refer to: Places Australia *Inglewood, Queensland * Shire of Inglewood, Queensland, a former local government area *Inglewood, South Australia *Inglewood, Victoria *Inglewood, Western Australia Canada * Inglewood, Ontario *Inglewoo ...

on of land purchased from the

provincial government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, o ...

, on which he established a sawmill.

Political career

After the abolition of provincial government, he became the first chairman of the Inglewood Town Board. He represented the

Grey and Bell Grey and Bell was a Taranaki electorate in the New Zealand Parliament from 1853 to 1881. Population centres The electorate covered the northern, rural part of the Taranaki Province. The localities of Inglewood and Waitara fell within Grey and Be ...

electorate from to 1881, and then the

Taranaki Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the ...

electorate from to 1887 when he was defeated. He contested the electorate in the and was beaten by the incumbent, Edward Smith. Later, he was a judge at the

Native Land Court Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nati ...

Death

Trimble died on 5 September 1899, aged 74 or 75, at

New Plymouth New Plymouth () is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, in Devon, from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. The New Pl ...

, after having been unwell for a long time.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Trimble, Robert 1824 births 1899 deaths Military personnel from Belfast Royal Artillery officers Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Unsuccessful candidates in the 1887 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1893 New Zealand general election New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Irish emigrants to New Zealand 19th-century New Zealand politicians