Mr. John Robert Hudson was born in October, 1840, in Yorkshire, England. He went to sea as a youth, and took part in the Crimean war. In 1857 he landed in Victoria, Australia, where he followed the goldfields until attracted to New Zealand by the Gabriel's Gully rush in 1861. Mr. Hudson was one of the first on the field. and afterwards visited the Waipori and Wakamarina diggings. In July, 1864, he crossed the Hurunui Saddle from Canterbury with horses, the first taken to the West Coast by that route. Mr. Hudson afterwards opened a store at Blakiston, the first township at Greymouth, and, subsequently, in conjunction with Mr. Pace, opened stores at Hokitika and Totara, and also bought gold for the Benk of New South Wales for some time before the bank opened in Westland. Later, Mr. Hudson established one of the first hotels, the “Albion,” on the West Coast, the site of which he afterwards sold to the Borough Council. He also owned and managed the Cleveland Hotel. For some years Mr. Hudson carried on business as a contractor for the formation of roads and the construction of bridges. He was subsequently appointed Inspector of Roads and Works under the Public Works Department. Mr. Hudson served as a member and as treasurer of the Hokitika Harbour Board for nearly twenty years; was a member of the Hokitika school committee for twenty-two years, of which he was for a long time chairman; was for twenty years a member of the Education Board, and for many years a member of the Hokitika Benevolent Society. He was also one of the first members of the local fire brigade, and served for a number of years as lieutenant. As a volunteer, Mr. Hudson was a member of the Westland Light Horse, and afterwards of the First Westland Rifles. He is a Freemason and a Past District Grand Master. Mr. Hudson married a daughter of the late Mr. Thomas Higgins, of Galway, Ireland, in the year 1866, and has, surviving, three sons and three daughter.