| Richard Molesworth Taylor |
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| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Sydenham |
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| In office 1886 – 1890 |
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| Preceded by | William White |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for City of Christchurch |
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| In office 1890 – 1893 Serving with William Pember Reeves, Westby Brook Perceval (1890 – 91) and Ebenezer Sandford (1891 – 1893) |
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| Succeeded by | William Whitehouse Collins |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1835 London |
| Died | 1919 |
| Spouse(s) | Laura Augusta Gray |
Richard Molesworth Taylor (1835–1919) was a three-term New Zealand Member of Parliament. Born in London in 1835, he moved to Auckland on the Heather Bell in 1846. He travelled to Victoria in 1851, and later to New South Wales and participated in the gold rush before returning to Auckland in 1857. There he briefly joined the militia, serving in the New Zealand Wars, before becoming a government contractor. In 1869 he moved to Canterbury, working as a general contractor until becoming a Member of Parliament in 1886.[1]
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| Years | Term | Electorate | Party | |
| 1886–1887 | 9th | Sydenham | Independent | |
| 1887–1890 | 10th | Sydenham | Independent | |
| 1890–1893 | 11th | Christchurch | Independent | |
William White resigned his Sydenham seat in Parliament in March 1886 on medical advice.[2] Taylor successfully contested the subsequent by-election on 12 May, gaining 438 votes against John Lee Scott (418), Samuel Paull Andrews (230) and S. G. Jolly (2).[3]
At the 1887 general election, Taylor contested the electorate against John Crewes.[4] They received 766 and 392 votes respectively, so Taylor entered the 10th New Zealand Parliament.[5]
The Sydenham electorate was abolished in 1890 so Taylor contested the City of Christchurch electorate instead, winning the third highest number of votes in the three-member electorate.[6] He unsuccessfully contested the 1893[7] and 1896[8] general elections, and the 1896 by-election.[9][10]
Taylor was married in 1887 to Laura Augusta Gray (born ca. 1832), a daughter of S. F. Gray of London. She died on 21 December 1903 at their home in Waltham Road, Sydenham, aged 69.[11]
Taylor died in 1919.[12]
| Parliament of New Zealand | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by William White |
Member of Parliament for Sydenham 1886–90 |
Vacant
Constituency abolished; recreated in 1946
Title next held by
Mabel Howard |
| Vacant
Constituency recreated after abolition in 1879
Title last held by
Samuel Paull Andrews, Edward Richardson and Edward Cephas John Stevens |
Member of Parliament for Christchurch 1890–93 Served alongside: William Pember Reeves, Westby Brook Perceval (1890–91) and Ebenezer Sandford (1891–93) |
Succeeded by William Pember Reeves, William Whitehouse Collins and George John Smith |