On the opening of the Thames Goldfields, he moved there and "has seen it develop from a canvas town—there being only one wooden house then (Sheehan's)—to its present proportions."

With the opening of the railways taking the passenger traffic from the river, Kidd came to Auckland and entered into the hotel keeping business.

He followed very popular movements, promoting workers rights and opening up Māori land, and was then pressured to go into parliament, suggesting that he was the only man who could control the Prime Minister Richard Seddon.

At the time of purchasing the land at 74 & 76 Gillies Avenue, Kidd was one of the oldest sitting members of the Auckland City Council, having been first elected in 1885.

He had resigned in 1888, when his projects for developing 159 acres at Ellerslie in the southern part of Remuera, fell victim to a property crash and he filed for bankruptcy.