Richard Barton (30 August 1790 – 20 August 1866) was the first European resident of Trentham, Upper Hutt, in New Zealand. He was born in Newport, Isle of Wight, England.
He was a Justice of the Peace and Member of Provincial Council in Wellington during the colonial years of New Zealand, serving alongside other pioneers including William B. Rhodes and during the first term of Henry Bunny in 1864.
Early life
Barton's earliest profession is documented as a farmer near Newport on the Isle of Wight in Hampshire, England. He was qualified in estate management for some years before progressing to Superintendent of Estates for the Duke of Sutherland in Trentham, Staffordshire. He also leased quarries at Brora from the Duke.
Barton had been Supervisor at Trentham Hall, a large Georgian house commissioned by the 2nd Duke, when he was sponsored, along with a party of younger men under his leadership from this estate, by the Duke of Sutherland to emigrate to New Zealand as a means of relieving overpopulation in the region.
For his work he secured a gift from the Duke for an allotment of a 100-acre section in the new colony of New Zealand.
