POLITICIAN AND FARMER

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27464, 25 September 1954, Page 6

POLITICIAN AND FARMER

MR KIDD’S CAREER

Member for Waitaki and Waimate since 1938, Mr David Campbell Kidd had not always enjoyed the best of health, the result of his service in World War I. He was an authority on Crown land problems and practical farming. A quietly mannered man, Mr Kidd made no political enemies but many friends. Born at Shag Point, Otago in 1889, Mr Kidd was the son of Mr Henry Kidd, an Ulsterman of Scottish descent, who was a miner at Shag Point for a

while before taking up a sheep run at Albury, 29 miles from, Timaru, After attending the Albury School, he worked on his father’s run until his father retired in 1909. With another brother, Mr Kidd took over the property. In 1915, he sold his share to his brother, enlisted, and served in Palestine with the South Canterbury Mounted Rifles. He was wounded in the battle of Gaza.

The Kidd family had a notable record of war service. Mr Kidd was the youngest of 10 sons, four of whom served in the Boer War—the largest representation from a New Zealand family—and four in World War 11. Always a crack rifle shot, Mr Kidd, in a musketry course at Tidworth Barracks, England, cut the centre from the bull in 10 rounds of rapid fire in half a minute, scoring what was described as one of the finest patterns seen on that range.

On his return from the war, Mr Kidd took up a soldiers’ farm at Gladbrook, Central Otago. He was president of the Strath-Taieri branch of the Returned Services’ Association and also a member of the Middlemarch Hospital Committee.

In 1922 Mr Kidd left Otago and took up the property he owned till his death at Burke’s Pass. He was a foundation member of the Crown Tenants’ Association and was the first Dominion president of the organisation. In 1932. he was elected as the Crown tenants’ representative on the Canterbury Land Board. He was elected to the Timaru Harbour Board in 1935 as one of the representatives of the , Mackenzie county.

His successful handling of farm problems and representation of farmers led to a request that he stand for Parliament and at the 1938 election he defeated Mr David Barnes (Labour) by 14 votes. His majority over the Labour candidate at the 1951 election was 2234.

Besides his sporting interests—he, played Rugby football as a Mackenzie representative—Mr Kidd was keenly, interested in pastoral shows and in two 1 successive years he won gold medals at the Mackenzie show for sheep judging. Mr Kidd was twice married and is survived by two children of the first marriage. Mrs Kidd lives at Manahune, near the old farqily property at Albury. and has always interested herself m her husband’s political work and has regularly accompanied him to Wellington for the parliamentary sessions. Before her marriage, as Miss Bessie Loy, she was well known as a home science teacher in Canterbury. Flags were flown at half-mast in Waimate yesterday as a mark of respect to the memory of Mr Kidd. t