Whitford Brown

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Whitford James Brown, CBE, OBE,(May 13, 1910 - April 14, 1986) was the foundation mayor of Porirua City for 21 years: 1965 - 1983.



[edit] Biography

Whitford Brown, or "Brownie" as he was more generally known, was born at Maori Creek near Greymouth on 13 May 1910.

Whitford moved to Wanganui as a teenager, then transferred from the Public Works Deparment to the New Zealand Railways Department at Wanganui; where he worked as a civil engineer until shifting to Porirua.

After his marriage to Frances Mary Ward, daughter of astronomer Joseph Thomas Ward, Whitford Brown and his family settled in Porirua in 1954. Their Martin Street home was one of relatively few in the area and remote from shops and other facilities.

He was "persuaded" to stand for the then Makara County Council in 1959, and although he was unsuccessful, was elected at a by-election the following year. Two years later, when Porirua was constituted a borough, Whitford Brown was elected mayor. His first official function was to open Mungavin Hall.

The air in Porirua East was full of the dust of earthworks as the contours of the countryside were dramatically altered to provide hundreds of housing sections for new families arriving daily.

His first concern as mayor was to obtain industrial land and the then Prime Minister Keith Holyoake proved helpful.

The new borough negotiated with the government to free land where the Todd Motors car assembly plant was built in 1975, and Broken Hill was also zoned industrial. Other major industries were established; as well as a modern shopping area where there once had been empty space. "It was like being the midwife at the birth of a new community," Mr Brown once said.

Porirua became a city in 1965 and Whitford Brown was the city's first mayor, and was re-elected at every election until he retired from the mayoralty in 1983.

In his 21 years as an Independent Mayor, "Brownie" took humble pride in heading a multicultural city and did his utmost to promote racial harmony. Jocularly but with humility he termed himself "The only white mayor called Brown in New Zealand"

In 1970, he was the recipient of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Award and spent three months studying pollution problems overseas.

In 1980 he saw the successful establishment of a sheltered workshop for handicapped people at Titahi Bay which bears his name (The Whitford Brown Community Workshop) which is designed to help people get back into the workforce.

Whitford Brown Drive which leads up the hill into Ascot Park from State Highway One was also named after him. He was also a founder member of the Whitireia Park Board.

Tributes flowed in when Whitford Brown passed away on 14 April 1986, after a short illness. He was buried at Whenua Tapu Cemetery. At the time of his death in 1986, Whitford Brown was survived by his wife, three sons, two daughters, 17 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

[edit] Awards and Honours

Whitford Brown was closely associated with many Porirua and regional community and business organisations over the years:

  • The Hutt Valley Energy Board.
  • Wellington Trustee Savings Bank.
  • Porirua College Board of Governors.
  • Wellington Regional Council.
  • Wellington Harbour Board.
  • The Porirua Licensing Trust.
  • Patron of the Maraeroa Community.

[edit] Sources

  • Porirua City - Former Mayor's
  • "Porirua Public Library Records"
  • "Mayor regrets politics in council", Kapi Mana News, 21 June 1983
  • "His death closes a chapter", Kapi Mana News, 22 April 1986
  • "Porirua's Mayor is deeply involved in community", Kapi Mana News,21 July 1973
  • "Long Serving Mayor dies", Kapi Mana News, 15 April 1986,
  • "Porirua's former mayor pleased with portrait", Kapi Mana News, 14 May 1985
  • Text of News Feature on the City of Porirua and its foundation Mayor for 21 years, by freelance writer Jane Symonds
  • Whitford's son: Derek Brown
  • Whitford's Granddaughter: Angela Daymond
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