Charles Carter (New Zealand politician)

Charles Rooking Carter (10 March 1822 – 22 July 1896) was a New Zealand contractor, politician, and philanthropist from England.

Carter lived in London from the age of 21 and through adult education classes at the Westminster Institution, broadened his knowledge and outlook.

In 1853 he was elected to the committee of the Wairarapa Small Farms Association, an organisation responsible for the settlement of Greytown and Masterton.

Carter's business success permitted his early return to England in 1863 for a four-year interval and again for most of the latter part of his life.

While overseas he kept in touch with Carterton, and his direct assistance to the borough library made it, by the mid-1880s, probably the best in the country outside the main centres.