Robert Gillespie Reid
Encyclopedia
Sir Robert Gillespie Reid (October 12, 1842, Coupar Angus
Coupar Angus
Coupar Angus is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, situated eight kilometres south of Blairgowrie.The name Coupar Angus serves to differentiate the town from Cupar, Fife...

, Perthshire
Perthshire
Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...

, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 – June 3, 1908) was a Scottish railway
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...

 contractor
General contractor
A general contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and communication of information to involved parties throughout the course of a building project.-Description:...

 most famous for building large railway bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...

s in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Founder of Reid Newfoundland Company
Reid Newfoundland Company
The Reid Newfoundland Company was incorporated in September 1901 and was the operator of the Newfoundland Railway across the island from 1901 to 1923. For a time it was the largest landowner in the country. The company was founded by Sir Robert Gillespie Reid of Scotland, a businessman who had...

, from 1889 until his death, he built, owned, and operated the Newfoundland Railway
Newfoundland Railway
The Newfoundland Railway was a railway which operated on the island of Newfoundland from 1898 to 1988. With a total track length of , it was the longest narrow gauge railway system in North America.-Early construction:...

.

Early career

When a young man he spent a few years in Australia goldmining,
and in 1871 he settled in America, where he began his
career as a contractor. He built one section of the Canadian
Pacific railway, and was responsible for the erection of the
international bridge over the Niagara river
Niagara River
The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the Province of Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States. There are differing theories as to the origin of the name of the river...

, the international
railway bridge over the Rio Grande river and the Lachine
bridge over the St. Lawrence.

Newfoundland

Reid brought his business ventures to Newfoundland in 1889.
In 1893, he signed a contract
with the government of Newfoundland, and as president of the Reid Newfoundland Company he built the railway from Whitbourne
Whitbourne, Newfoundland and Labrador
Whitbourne is a town on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada in Division No. 1.Whitbourne, Newfoundland’s first inland town, is named after Sir Richard Whitbourne, one of the most colourful early settlers of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador who wrote a book about...

 to Port aux Basques
Channel-Port aux Basques, Newfoundland and Labrador
Channel-Port aux Basques is a town at the extreme southwestern tip of the island of Newfoundland fronting on the eastern end of the Cabot Strait. A Marine Atlantic ferry terminal is located in the town which is the primary entry point onto the island of Newfoundland and the western terminus of...

.
The contract specified he work the line for ten years. In return he received a large grant
of land.

In 1898 he further contracted to work all the railways
in Newfoundland for fifty years on condition that at the end
of this time they should become his property. This bargain,
which included other matters such as steamers, docks and
telegraphs, was extraordinarily favourable to Reid, who, by
further enormous grants of land, became one of the largest
landed proprietors in the world. Public opinion
Public opinion
Public opinion is the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs held by the adult population. Public opinion can also be defined as the complex collection of opinions of many different people and the sum of all their views....

 was aroused
against the deal, and at first the governor, Herbert Murray, refused
to ratify it. After the premier, James Spearman Winter
James Spearman Winter
Sir James Spearman Winter, KCMG was a Newfoundland politician and Premier. Winter served in the Conservative government of Sir William Whiteway as Solicitor-General from 1882 to 1885 when he resigned along with a number of other Protestants as a result of sectarian riots at Harbour Grace...

, had been
replaced by Robert Bond
Robert Bond
Sir Robert Bond was the Prime Minister of Newfoundland from 1900 to 1909. He was born in St. John's, Newfoundland, as the son of merchant John Bond. Bond grew up in St. John's until 1872 when his father died and left the family a good deal of money...

, the terms of
the contract were revised, being made more favourable to
Newfoundland, and Reid's interests were transferred to a
company, the Reid Newfoundland Company, of which he was
the first president. The Reid Newfoundland Company owned and operated the Whitbourne to Port aux Basques railway for 33 years and also ran the coastal boat and telegraph services on the island.

Reid was knighted in 1907.

Legacy

There is a $3,500 Robert Gillespie Reid Memorial Scholarship available for Memorial University of Newfoundland
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Memorial University of Newfoundland, is a comprehensive university located primarily in St...

.

Further reading

  • Sir Robert Gillespie Reid, National Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada plaque installed at Newfoundland Railway
    Newfoundland Railway
    The Newfoundland Railway was a railway which operated on the island of Newfoundland from 1898 to 1988. With a total track length of , it was the longest narrow gauge railway system in North America.-Early construction:...

     station in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
    St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
    St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...

    .
  • Harding, Les. The Newfoundland Railway 1898 - 1969. A History. McFarland, 2008. ISBN 978-0-7864-3261-5
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