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 the Alternative Vote[1].
The current Mayor is Kerry Prendergast.
[edit] 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 — when the self-proclaimed government arrested a ship's captain for a violation of Wellingtonian law, 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 1842 Wellington was officially proclaimed a borough, the first municipality in the country to be given this status, and the office of mayor established. George Hunter and William Guyton were the only two holders of this office before it lapsed into abeyance. After a brief period of little local government, the Province of Wellington was established, and most of Wellington's affairs were handled by the provincial government.
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.
[edit] List of Mayors of Wellington
| # | Name | Term |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 11 | Arthur Winton Brown, 2nd time | 1891 |
| 12 | Francis Bell (New Zealand Prime Minister) | 1892 – 1893 |
| 13 | Alfred Brandon | 1894 |
| 14 | Charles Luke | 1895 |
| George Fisher, 2nd time | 1896 | |
| Francis Bell, 2nd time | 1897 | |
| 15 | John Blair | 1898 – 1899 |
| 16 | John Aitken | 1900 – 1904 |
| 17 | Thomas Charles Hislop | 1905 – 1908 |
| 18 | Alfred Newman | 1909 |
| 19 | Thomas Mason Wilford | 1910 – 1911 |
| 20 | David McLaren | 1912 |
| 21 | John Luke | 1913 – 1921 |
| 22 | Robert Wright | 1921 – 1925 |
| 23 | Charles Norwood | 1925 – 1927 |
| 24 | George Troup | 1927 – 1931 |
| 25 | Thomas William Hislop | 1931 – 1944 |
| 26 | William Appleton | 1944 – 1950 |
| 27 | Robert Macalister | 1950 – 1956 |
| 28 | Frank Kitts | 1956 – 1974 |
| 29 | Michael Fowler | 1974 – 1983 |
| 30 | Ian Lawrence | 1983 – 1986 |
| 31 | James Belich | 1986 – 1992 |
| 32 | Fran Wilde | 1992 – 1995 |
| 33 | Mark Blumsky | 1995 – 2001 |
| 34 | Kerry Prendergast | 2001 – present |
