Robert Coulter was reported to have been born in 1891 in Christchurch[1] and went to Woodend Public School.

[2] However, a Robert Coulter gained a prize in Standard 2 at Woodend District School in 1894.

[2] After primary education he worked in farming, lived about two years in Wellington and moved to Auckland.

[22] He won the Waikato electorate in 1935 election as the Labour Party candidate, but, with rearrangement of boundaries, was defeated in Hauraki in 1938 by Lieutenant- Colonel J. M.

[25] He then moved his residence to Hamilton,[2] as he was selected to stand in Raglan,[26] in succession to Lee Martin, who was retiring due to ill health.

[23] Coulter was something of a political anomaly, being elected twice in rural electorates that usually returned Reform or National MPs.

[30] Coulter Bridge, which carries SH26 over the Waihou River, in Te Aroha, was built in 1928 and named after him.