Mayor of Wellington City

Mayor of Wellington City

Coat of arms of the City of Wellington
Incumbent
Justin Lester
since 26 October 2016
Style His/Her Worship
Seat Wellington Town Hall
Term length Three years
Inaugural holder George Hunter
Formation 3 October 1842
Deputy Paul Eagle
Salary $167,800[1]
Website official website

The Mayor of Wellington City is the head of the municipal government of Wellington, New Zealand, and presides over the Wellington City Council. Adjacent local bodies - Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, and Porirua - have their own mayors. The Mayor is directly elected using STV.

The current Mayor is Justin Lester, elected in October 2016.[2]

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.

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 with 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 12 Burgesses to the new council on 3 October 1842 and was declared mayor. He died suddenly on 19 July 1843. William Guyton was then declared mayor, as runner-up in 1842.

The British Government disallowed the Municipal Corporations Ordinance, but news of this did not reach Wellington until late September 1843, after the 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.

Initially, the councillors elected one of their own as mayor towards the end of the year. The role was traditionally awarded to the longest serving councillor. The system changed upon the introduction of The Municipal Corporations Acts Amendment Act, 1875. It legislated that mayors must be elected at large by eligible voters.[3] The inaugural mayoral election was held in 1875 resulting in William Hutchison being the first mayor to be elected by voters.[4]

In 1863, a Town Board was established with 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, which continues. The establishment of the new council was primarily driven by John Plimmer, called by some the Father of Wellington.

Since then the office of Mayor has been held by 34 people. Five people have been Mayor on two separate occasions, and the longest-serving Mayor was Sir Frank Kitts, from 1956 to 1974.

Recent mayors

Six former mayors are alive:

Of the mayors elected since Frank Kitts (1956–1974) only one has died —

List of Mayors of Wellington

Colour key
(for political parties)
# Name Portrait Term of Office Elections
- George Hunter 1842 1843 1842
- William Guyton 1843 1843
1 Joseph Dransfield 1870 1873 1870 • 1871 • 1872
2 Charles Borlase 1874 1875 1874
3 William Sefton Moorhouse 1875 1875
4 William Hutchison 1875 1877 1875 • 1876 • 1877
(1) Joseph Dransfield 1878 1879 1878
5 George Allen 1879 -
(Acting Mayor)
(4) William Hutchison 1879 1881 1879 • 1880
6 George Fisher 1881 1885 1881 • 1882
1883 • 1884
7 Arthur Winton Brown 1885 1887 1885 • 1886
8 Samuel Brown 1887 1888 1887
9 John Duthie 1888 1890 1888 • 1889
10 Charles Johnston 1890 1891 1890
(7) Arthur Winton Brown 1891 1892 1891
11 Francis Bell 1892 1893 1892
12 Alfred Brandon 1893 1894 1893
13 Charles Luke 1894 1895 1894
(6) George Fisher 1895 1896 1895
(11) Francis Bell 1896 1897 1896
14 John Blair 1897 1899 1897
15 John Aitken 1899 1905 1899 • 1901 • 1903
16 Thomas William Hislop 1905 1909 1905 • 1907
17 Alfred Newman 1909 1910 1909
18 Thomas Wilford 1910 1912 1910 • 1911
19 David McLaren 1912 1913 1912
20 John Luke 1913 1921 1913 • 1915
1917 • 1919
21 Robert Alexander Wright 1921 1925 1921 • 1923
22 Charles Norwood 1925 1927 1925
23 George Troup 1927 1931 1927 • 1929
24 Thomas Hislop 1931 1944 1931 • 1933 • 1935
1938 • 1941
25 Will Appleton 1944 1950 1944 • 1947
26 Robert Macalister 1950 1956 1950 • 1953
27 Frank Kitts 1956 1974 1956 • 1959 • 1962
1965 • 1968 • 1971
28 Michael Fowler 1974 1983 1974 • 1977 • 1980
29 Ian Lawrence 1983 1986 1983
30 James Belich 1986 1992 1986 • 1989
31 Fran Wilde 1992 1995 1992
32 Mark Blumsky 1995 2001 1995 • 1998
33 Kerry Prendergast 2001 2010 2001 • 2004 • 2007
34 Celia Wade-Brown 2010 2016 2010 • 2013
35 Justin Lester 2016 present 2016

Notes

  1. ↑ Hendry, Simon (2 May 2016). "Mayors and councillors' pay will increase by between 1.5 and 3 per cent from July". The Dominion Post. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  2. ↑ "Election 2016: Progress Results for the Mayor". Wellington City Council. Wellington City Council. 8 October 2016. Retrieved 08/10/2016. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  3. ↑ "Municipal Corporations Acts Amendment Act 1875". University of Auckland. 21 October 1875. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  4. ↑ "The Mayoralty Election". The Evening Post. XII (143). 15 December 1875. p. 2. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  5. ↑ Forbes, Michael (15 September 2015). "Former Wellington mayor Sir James Belich dies at age 88". The Dominion Post. Retrieved 15 September 2015.

References

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