Richard Moore (7 March 1849 – 12 September 1936) was an independent conservative Member of Parliament in New Zealand and Mayor of Kaiapoi.^[1]

Moore was born in London on 7 March 1849, the son of shoemaker John Moore and his wife Ann.^[2] He left England with his family on the Steadfast in February 1851, which arrived in Lyttelton on 8 June of that year.^[3][4] The family settled in Kaiapoi.^[5] At 21, he set himself up as a coachbuilder and wheelwright. Later on, he added saddlery to his business. When he sold the business he bought a shareholding in the Kaiapoi Produce Company and later became its sole owner. He was a large shareholder in the Kaiapoi Woollen Company.^[6]

Moore chaired the school committee for 14 years. He was a member of the Kaiapoi Borough Council for eight years and was Mayor of Kaiapoi from 1884 to 1887.^[6][7] He was chairman of the Waimakariri Harbour Board.^[6]

In the 1887 election, he unsuccessfully contested the Kaiapoi electorate against Edward Richardson.^[8] He represented Kaiapoi from 1890^[9][10] to 1893, when he was defeated,^[11] and from 1896 to 1899, when he was again defeated.^[12]

Moore was conjointly elected onto the Lyttelton Harbour Board by the boroughs of Kaiapoi and Rangiora in February 1905.^[13] He was chairman of the harbour board from 7 May 1913^[14] until 5 May 1915.^[15]

He was appointed to the Legislative Council on 14 July 1914. He was twice re-appointed and served until 13 July 1935.^[16] In 1935, he was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.^[17]

Moore died in 1936 at his home in the Christchurch suburb of Cashmere,^[18] and was buried at Kaiapoi Cemetery.^[7]

• Scholefield, Guy, ed. (1940). A Dictionary of New Zealand Biography : M–Addenda (PDF). Vol. II. Wellington: Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.