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, first elected in 2007, is Bob Parker.
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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 Brenchley Bishop | 1866 |
| 5 | William Wilson | 1867 |
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, W. Calvert 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][3]
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 45 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.[4] Wilson's term, at just over six months, was the second shortest. Vicki Buck has been the only female mayor so far.
The position of Deputy Mayor was established in 1917.[1]
Five mayors have held non-consecutive terms:
Two former mayors are alive:
The most recent deaths were:
| Name | Term | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Wilson | 1868[3] |
| 2 | John Anderson | 1868–1869[5] |
| 3 | Andrew Duncan | 1869–1870[6] |
| 4 | James Jameson | 1870–1871[7] |
| 5 | Henry Sawtell | 1871–1872 |
| 6 | Edward Brenchley Bishop | 1872–1873 |
| 7 | Michael Brennan Hart | 1873–1874 |
| 8 | Frederick 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[8] |
| 15 | Charles Louisson | 1887–1889[9] |
| 16 | Samuel Manning | 1889–1890 |
| 17 | Charles Mathew Gray | 1890–1891 |
| 18 | William Prudhoe | 1891–1892 |
| 19 | Eden George | 1892–1893 |
| 20 | Thomas Gapes | 1893–1894 |
| 21 | Walter Cooper | 1894–1895 |
| 22 | Henry Joseph Beswick | 1895–1896 |
| Walter Cooper, 2nd time | 1896–1897[10] | |
| Charles Louisson, 2nd time | 1897–1899[11] | |
| 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 | Daniel Giles 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[12] |
| 43 | Vicki Buck | 1989–1998 |
| 44 | Garry Moore | 1998–2007 |
| 45 | Bob Parker | 2007–present |
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