Alexander Walker Reid JP (14 September 1853 – 21 November 1938) was a 19th-century New Zealand farmer, inventor, and entrepreneur.
He was notable for making Stratford the second or third New Zealand town to have an electricity supply,[1] for constructing the first steam-powered motor car in the country, and for creating an innovative milking machine.
On 26 March 1926, at Wharehuia near Stratford, Reid married a widow, Ellen Anne Richmond.
Reid took served as a justice of the peace, a member of the Ngaire Road Board, and a Councillor on the Stratford County Council.
He was involved in forming a cooperative dairy packing company and the opening of the Waitara Freezing Works.
It consisted of a wooden dam and a tunnel approximately 100 yards long complete with a surge chamber.
The plant produced single-phase alternating current at 40 cycles and 2,200 volts, and had a capacity of 90 kilowatts.
Before general vehicle registration was introduced Reid's personal car carried the number plate SD1 (Stratford District 1).
Its engine was removed and used by a local farmer to run a pump, and the chassis was converted into a trailer.
[5] At the same time he was producing his steam cars, Reid was also developing a mechanical milking machine.
Innovations included were a variable-speed pulsator and rubber cups with reinforced sections which simulated the natural sucking action of a calf.