Born in 1824, Sir Hercules was a Sandhurst graduate. He became 1st Lt of the 87th Regiment in 1844 but resigned his commission in 1846.
He became President of Montserrat in 1854 and subsequently held several governorships before taking up the position in New Zealand in 1879. He left in 1880 to become Governor of the Cape Colony and High Commissioner for South Africa.
He was raised to the peerage in 1896 as 1st Baron Rosemead. He died in 1897.
Biographical information courtesy of NZ Almanack
Read Sir Hercules Robinson's biography on Wikipedia