- Mayor of Wellington
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The Mayor of Wellington is the head of the municipal government of Wellington, New Zealand, and presides over the Wellington City Council. The Mayor of Wellington administers only Wellington City itself — other municipalities in adjacent areas of the Wellington Region such as Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, and Porirua have their own mayors. The Mayor is directly elected using Instant Runoff Voting.[1]
The current Mayor is Celia Wade-Brown.
Contents
History
The development of local government in Wellington was erratic. The first attempt to establish governmental institutions, the so-called "Wellington Republic", was short-lived and based on rules written by the New Zealand Company. Colonel William Wakefield was to be the first President.
But when the self-proclaimed government arrested a ship's captain for a violation of Wellington law, the Governor William Hobson quickly asserted British sovereignty over the whole of New Zealand, sending a contingent of soldiers to disband the Council in Wellington.
In January 1842 the Legislative Council in Auckland passed the Municipal Corporations Ordinance, and in May 1842 Wellington was officially proclaimed a borough, the first municipality in the country to be given this status. The office of mayor was established, but there were only two holders of this office under the Ordinance.
George Hunter received the most votes in the election for twelve Burgesses to the new Borough Council on 3 October 1842 and was declared mayor. He died suddenly on 19 July 1843.
William Guyton was then declared mayor, as he was runner-up for the number of votes in 1842.
The British Government however disallowed the Municipal Corporations Ordinance. News of this decision did not reach Wellington until late September 1843, after one election had been held and a second Burgess Roll of qualified voters had been prepared in 1843 (both Rolls are listed in Carman).
After a brief period of little local government, the Province of Wellington was established in 1852, and most of Wellington's affairs were handled by the provincial government.
In 1863 a Town Board was established. Wellington had three Wards (Thorndon, Lambton, Te Aro), but no Mayor.
On 16 September 1870, Wellington was officially incorporated as a city, and a new mayoralty created. This is the same office that survives today. The establishment of this new government was primarily driven by John Plimmer, called by some the Father of Wellington.
Since the modern office of Mayor was established, it has been held by 34 people. Five people have been Mayor on two separate occasions. The longest-serving Mayor was Sir Frank Kitts, from 1956 to 1974.
List of Mayors of Wellington
# Name Term a George Hunter 1842–1843 b William Guyton 1843 1 Joseph Dransfield 1870–1873 2 Charles Borlase 1874 3 William Sefton Moorhouse 1875 4 William Hutchison 1876–1877 Joseph Dransfield, 2nd time 1878–1879 5 George Allen 1879 William Hutchison, 2nd time 1879–1881 6 George Fisher 1882–1885 7 Arthur Winton Brown 1886 8 Samuel Brown 1887–1888 9 John Duthie 1889 10 Charles Johnston 1890 Arthur Winton Brown, 2nd time 1891 11 Francis Bell 1892–1893 12 Alfred Brandon 1894 13 Charles Luke 1895 George Fisher, 2nd time 1896 Francis Bell, 2nd time 1897 14 John Blair 1898–1899 15 John Aitken 1900–1904 16 Thomas William Hislop 1905–1908 17 Alfred Newman 1909 18 Thomas Mason Wilford 1910–1911 19 David McLaren 1912 20 John Luke 1913–1921 21 Robert Wright 1921–1925 22 Charles Norwood 1925–1927 23 George Troup 1927–1931 24 Thomas Charles Atkinson Hislop 1931–1944 25 William Appleton 1944–1950 26 Robert Macalister 1950–1956 27 Frank Kitts 1956–1974 28 Michael Fowler 1974–1983 29 Ian Lawrence 1983–1986 30 James Belich 1986–1992 31 Fran Wilde 1992–1995 32 Mark Blumsky 1995–2001 33 Kerry Prendergast 2001–2010 34 Celia Wade-Brown 2010 – present Notes
References
- Wellington: Biography of a City by Redmer Yska (2006, Reed, Auckland) ISBN 0 7900 1107 3
- Betts on Wellington: A City and its Politics by G. M. Betts (1970, Reed, Wellington) ISBN 0 589 00469 7
- The Birth of a City: Wellington 1840-1843 by A. H. Carman (1970, Wright & Carman, Wellington)
- No Mean City by Stuart Perry (1969 booklet, Wellington City Council) includes a paragraph and a portrait or photo for each mayor (including Hunter & Guyton).
- Prendergast ousted as Wellington mayor http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10680240
External links
- Mayors of Wellington (with photos, from WCC Archives)
Mayors in New Zealand Mayors of cities: Auckland · Hamilton · Tauranga · Napier · Palmerston North · Porirua · Upper Hutt · Lower Hutt · Wellington · Nelson · Christchurch · Dunedin · InvercargillMayors of districts and regions:
North IslandMayors of districts and regions:
South IslandMayors of historic places: Categories:- Mayors of Wellington
- Lists of mayors of places in New Zealand
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