John Richards was born in a seaport town in the south of England in 1821. He went to sea as a boy, first in a merchantman, then in the Royal Navy. he served for 7 years in the Royal Navy and took part in the opium wars. After leaving the navy he cruised about among the south sea islands, being in command of a schooner trading in copra and sandalwood.

in the early 1850s John Richards went to the Australian gold diggings.

John Richards came to New Zealand and was engaged in mining in the Tuapeka district.

John Richards moved to Potters Gully where he was mining, then later on to the Kawarau River at a beach later called Richards Beach. At this place, approx 7 km upstream of the Bannockburn Creek, he was very successful and obtained some good gold. As the miners of Dunstan moved up he Kawarau, a small shanty town was established on an alluvial fan about 800m up the Bannockburn Creek from the Kawarau River. This area was covered with Manuka and Matagouri. John Richards built a wood and calico store/hotel and dwelling to supply the miners needs. The shantytown was the first Banockburn settlement.

The Bannockburn settlement had gradually moved to Doctors Flat, to be close to the newly formed road linking Clyde via the Cairnmuir track, Smiths Gully and Pipeclay, then on to Cromwell via Stuarts punt (location #157). John Richards moved his business to the present site of the Bannockburn Hotel. Here he built a substantial timber and corrugated iron hotel and store (location #115)