Mayor of Christchurch

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Lianne Dalziel, Mayor of Christchurch since October 2013

The Mayor of Christchurch is the head of the municipal government of Christchurch, New Zealand, and presides over the Christchurch City Council. The mayor is directly elected using a First Past the Post electoral system. The current mayor, Lianne Dalziel, was first elected in the October 2013 mayoral election.

History

Chairmen of the Town Council

Christchurch became a city by Royal charter on 31 July 1856; the first in New Zealand. Since 1862, chairmen were in charge of local government. Five chairmen presided in the initial years:[1]

Name Term
1 John Hall 1862–1863
2 John Ollivier 1863–1864
3 Isaac Luck 1865
4 Edward Bishop 1866
5 William Wilson 1867

Mayors of the City Council

The town council held a meeting on 10 June 1868 to elect its first mayor. In those days, councillors were elected for three-year terms, and once a year elected one of their group as mayor, i.e. the position was not elected at large (by the voting public) as is the case today.[2]

The following councillors attended the 10 June meeting: William Wilson, James Purvis Jameson, T. Tombs, George Ruddenklau, Henry Thomson, W. A. Sheppard, William Calvert[3] and John Anderson, who chaired the meeting. Thomson moved that Wilson be elected as the first mayor of Christchurch, and Tombs seconded the motion. The chairman put the motion to the meeting and it was carried unanimously. With the meeting, the council had brought itself under the Municipal Corporations Act 1867.[2][4]

Hence, the last chairman (William Wilson) became the first mayor in 1868. The first chairman (John Hall) became mayor 44 years later in 1906. There have been 46 holders of the position. The longest-serving was Sir Hamish Hay, who held the post for 15 years (5 terms). The shortest mayoralty was by Tommy Taylor in 1911, who died three months after being elected.[5] Wilson's term, at just over six months, was the second shortest. Vicki Buck and the current mayor, Lianne Dalziel, have been the only female mayors so far.

Initially, councillors elected one of their own as mayor towards the end of the year, and the role was usually awarded to the most senior councillor. Most elections were unanimous, and the newly elected mayor was instantly regarded as the head of the council. The system changed with the introduction of The Municipal Corporations Acts Amendment Act, 1875, as that legislation stipulated that mayors had to be elected at large (i.e. by eligible voters).[6][7] Fred Hobbs, the incumbent, was the only candidate nominated, so he was declared elected unopposed on 17 December 1875.[8] James Gapes was the first mayor elected at large on 20 December 1876.[9][10][11] The newly elected person was from that point the mayor-elect, until he was sworn in; Gapes was sworn in on 2 January 1877.[12] Despite this, Taylor's death in 1911 resulted in councillors electing their fellow councillor John Joseph Dougall as mayor as required by the legislation for such cases.[13]

Five mayors have held non-consecutive terms:

Recent mayors

Three former mayors are alive:

The most recent deaths were:

  • Ron Guthrey (8 September 2008)
  • Hamish Hay (7 September 2008)

List of Mayors of Christchurch

Name Term
1 William Wilson 1868[4]
2 John Anderson 1868–1869[14]
3 Andrew Duncan 1869–1870[15]
4 James Jameson 1870–1871[16]
5 Henry Sawtell 1871–1872
6 Edward Bishop 1872–1873
7 Michael Hart 1873–1874
8 Fred Hobbs 1875–1876
9 James Gapes 1876–1877
10 Henry Thomson 1877–1878
11 Charles Thomas Ick 1878–1880
James Gapes, 2nd time 1880–1881
12 George Ruddenklau 1881–1883
13 Charles Hulbert 1883–1885
14 Aaron Ayers 1885–1887[17]
15 Charles Louisson 1887–1889[18]
16 Samuel Manning 1889–1890
17 Charles Gray 1890–1891
18 William Prudhoe 1891–1892
19 Eden George 1892–1893
20 Thomas Gapes 1893–1894
21 Walter Cooper 1894–1895
22 Harry Joseph Beswick 1895–1896
Walter Cooper, 2nd time 1896–1897[19]
Charles Louisson, 2nd time 1897–1899[20]
23 William Reece 1899–1901
24 Arthur Rhodes 1901–1902
25 Henry Wigram 1902–1904
Charles Mathew Gray, 2nd time 1904–1905
26 John Hall 1906–1907
27 George Payling 1907–1908
28 Charles Allison 1908–1911
29 Thomas Taylor 1911
30 John Joseph Dougall 1911–1912
31 Henry Holland 1912–1919
32 Henry Thacker 1919–1923
33 James Arthur Flesher 1923–1925
34 Rev John Archer 1925–1931
35 Dan Sullivan 1931–1936
36 John Beanland 1936–1938
37 Robert Macfarlane 1938–1941
38 Ernest Andrews 1941–1950
Robert Macfarlane, 2nd time 1950–1958
39 George Manning 1958–1968
40 Ron Guthrey 1968–1971
41 Neville Pickering 1971–1974
42 Hamish Hay 1974–1989[21]
43 Vicki Buck 1989–1998
44 Garry Moore 1998–2007
45 Bob Parker 2007–2013
46 Lianne Dalziel 2013 – present

List of Deputy-Mayors of Christchurch

The position of Deputy Mayor was established in 1917.[1] In the first meeting of the newly elected council on 7 May 1917, Alfred Williams[22] was the first city councillor to be elected to the position.[23] Five deputy-mayors were later elected as mayors: John Beanland, James Arthur Flesher, Dan Sullivan, Ernest Andrews, and George Manning. Four deputy-mayors, including the current holder of the office, were mayors before they served as deputies: Henry Thacker, John Archer, Robert Macfarlane, and Vicki Buck.[1]

Mayor Term (mayor) Deputy-Mayor Term (deputy)
31 Henry Holland 1912–1919 1 Alfred Williams[1] 1917–1919
32 Henry Thacker 1919–1923 2 John Beanland[1] 1919–1921
3 James Arthur Flesher[1] 1921–1923
33 James Arthur Flesher 1923–1925 4 Arnaud McKellar[1][24] 1923–1925
34 Rev John Archer 1925–1931 5 Charles Phipp Agar[1][24] 1925–1927
6 Dan Sullivan[1] 1927–1929
7 Henry Thacker[1] 1929–1931
35 Dan Sullivan 1931–1936 8 Rev John Archer[1] 1931–1935
John Beanland, 2nd time[1] 1935–1936
36 John Beanland 1936–1938 9 Ernest Andrews[1] 1936–1938
37 Robert Macfarlane 1938–1941 10 John Septimus Barnett[1][25] 1938–1941
38 Ernest Andrews 1941–1950 11 Melville Lyons[1] 1941–1947
12 James (Jim) Neil Clarke[1][26][27] 1947–1950
Robert Macfarlane, 2nd time 1950–1958 13 George Manning[1] 1950–1958
39 George Manning 1958–1968 14 Leslie George Amos[1][28] 1958–1959
15 Harold Smith[1][29] 1959–1971
40 Ron Guthrey 1968–1971
41 Neville Pickering 1971–1974 16 Robert Macfarlane[1] 1971–1974
42 Hamish Hay 1974–1989 17 Peter Skellerup[1][30] 1974–1980
18 Rex Lester[1][31] 1980–1983
19 Maurice Carter[1][32] 1983–1989
43 Vicki Buck 1989–1998 20 Morgan Fahey[1] 1989–1998
44 Garry Moore 1998–2007 21 Lesley Keast[1] 1998–2004
22 Carole Evans[1] 2005–2007
45 Bob Parker 2007–2013 23 Norm Withers[33] 2008–2010
24 Ngaire Button[34] 2011–2013
46 Lianne Dalziel 2013 – present 25 Vicki Buck 2013 – present

See also

Notes

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  29. Hay 1989, p. 49.
  30. Hay 1989, p. 62.
  31. Hay 1989, p. 92.
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References

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