Arthur Richmond Atkinson was a New Zealand barrister and solicitor, Member of Parliament and Wellington City Councillor.
Background
Atkinson was born in New Plymouth, New Zealand in 1872, the son of Arthur Samuel Atkinson and Jane Maria Richmond. On his father"s side he was the nephew of Harry Atkinson. On his mother"s side he was the nephew of (Christopher) William Richmond, James Crowe Richmond and Henry Robert Richmond.
Education
He was educated at Nelson College in New Zealand and Clifton College in England.
Career
After studying at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, Atkinson was called to the Bar by Lincoln"s Inn in 1887, before returning to New Zealand the same year. In 1892 he began legal practice in Wellington, joining Charles Morison to form the firm of barristers and solicitors Morison and Atkinson. He later became a partner in Atkinson, Dale and Mather.
Atkinson represented the City of Wellington electorate from 1899 to 1902 when he was defeated.
Of nine candidates, he came fifth in the three-member electorate. He stood unsuccessfully for Wellington East in 1908, being defeated in the second ballot.
He was first elected to the Wellington City Council at the 1909 local-body election. He continued as a city councillor until 1921, when he did not seek re-election.
Atkinson was active in the prohibition movement, and was president of the New Zealand Alliance from 1920 to 1922.
From 1907 to 1911 he was the New Zealand correspondent for The Morning Post newspaper in London, and subsequently held the same role with The Times. He also contributed a biography of William Massey and the article on New Zealand to the 1922 edition of Encyclopædia Britannica. Atkinson died at his residence in the Wellington suburb of Wadestown in 1935.
He was buried at Karori Cemetery.