Captain Robert Priddle was born in Devonshire, England, in 1841. While he was a mere lad he went to sea as a cabin boy, but steadily forged his way to the front, and obtained his master mariner's certificate in the early sixties. He was the owner of the barquentine “Ocean Ranger,” which he sailed all round the world. On arriving at Lyttelton in 1879, he disposed of his vessel, and settled with his wife and family at Blenheim, where he purchased the old Grosvenor Hotel, which he successfully conducted until his death, which occurred on the 30th of October, 1894. Captain Priddle left a widow and a family of nine children.