David Robbie | |
---|---|
Member of the Legislative Council for Levuka | |
In office 1905–1908 | |
Succeeded by | John Maynard Hedstrom |
Personal details | |
Born | 4 March 1849 Forfar, United Kingdom |
Died | 1940 (age 91) Levuka, Fiji |
Profession | Sailor, Trader, Planter |
Captain David Robbie (4 March 1849 – 1940) was a Scottish-born businessman, planter and politician in Fiji. He served as a member of the Legislative Council between 1905 and 1908.
Robbie was born in the Scottish town of Forfar in 1849. [1] After being educated in the town, his first job was as a telegraph clerk in the Scottish Railway Company. [1] He then became a sailor, joining a ship trading between Australia and eastern India. In 1872 he moved to the Thames goldfield in New Zealand, before becoming a coastal trader. He then moved to Fiji in 1876, where he bought his own boat, a schooner named Midge, [2] and traded across the Pacific islands. [1] A sunken lagoon that he discovered to the north-east of Wallis was named Robbie Shoal. [2]
He became a manager in the Kopsen & Co company in Suva in 1882. After the company's premises burnt down in 1889, he moved to Levuka, where he married and started running the Royal Hotel. [2] He subsequently established his own merchants firm, Robbie and Evans, [1] which was later bought by Burns Philp. [3] He then established a cocoa, coffee, rubber, tea and vanilla plantation on Vanua Levu. [1] Due to his influence in business, he became President of the Levuka Chamber of Commerce. [1] He also acted as Harbourmaster at Levuka on several occasions. [4]
Robbie entered local politics in Levuka, serving as a member of Levuka Town Council for over two decades. [4] He was also warden and mayor of the town, and chaired the town's school board. [1] In 1905 he contested the Levuka seat in the first elections to the Fijian Legislative Council, and was elected unopposed. [5] However, in the 1908 elections he lost by four votes to John Maynard Hedstrom. [5] He challenged Hedstrom again in the 1911 elections, but lost by six votes. [5]
After retiring he lived on his Wainunu estate on Vanua Levu. His wife died in 1924, [6] and Robbie died in Levuka in 1940. [3] He was described as "tall, and very erect... even to his nineties". [7]
David Robbie | |
---|---|
Member of the Legislative Council for Levuka | |
In office 1905–1908 | |
Succeeded by | John Maynard Hedstrom |
Personal details | |
Born | 4 March 1849 Forfar, United Kingdom |
Died | 1940 (age 91) Levuka, Fiji |
Profession | Sailor, Trader, Planter |
Captain David Robbie (4 March 1849 – 1940) was a Scottish-born businessman, planter and politician in Fiji. He served as a member of the Legislative Council between 1905 and 1908.
Robbie was born in the Scottish town of Forfar in 1849. [1] After being educated in the town, his first job was as a telegraph clerk in the Scottish Railway Company. [1] He then became a sailor, joining a ship trading between Australia and eastern India. In 1872 he moved to the Thames goldfield in New Zealand, before becoming a coastal trader. He then moved to Fiji in 1876, where he bought his own boat, a schooner named Midge, [2] and traded across the Pacific islands. [1] A sunken lagoon that he discovered to the north-east of Wallis was named Robbie Shoal. [2]
He became a manager in the Kopsen & Co company in Suva in 1882. After the company's premises burnt down in 1889, he moved to Levuka, where he married and started running the Royal Hotel. [2] He subsequently established his own merchants firm, Robbie and Evans, [1] which was later bought by Burns Philp. [3] He then established a cocoa, coffee, rubber, tea and vanilla plantation on Vanua Levu. [1] Due to his influence in business, he became President of the Levuka Chamber of Commerce. [1] He also acted as Harbourmaster at Levuka on several occasions. [4]
Robbie entered local politics in Levuka, serving as a member of Levuka Town Council for over two decades. [4] He was also warden and mayor of the town, and chaired the town's school board. [1] In 1905 he contested the Levuka seat in the first elections to the Fijian Legislative Council, and was elected unopposed. [5] However, in the 1908 elections he lost by four votes to John Maynard Hedstrom. [5] He challenged Hedstrom again in the 1911 elections, but lost by six votes. [5]
After retiring he lived on his Wainunu estate on Vanua Levu. His wife died in 1924, [6] and Robbie died in Levuka in 1940. [3] He was described as "tall, and very erect... even to his nineties". [7]