Mayor of Invercargill

Mayor of Invercargill
Tim Shadbolt, Mayor since 1998
Incumbent
Tim Shadbolt

since 1998
Style Sir
Appointer Elected
Inaugural holder William Wood
Formation 1871
Succession after Election
Deputy Councillor Jackie Kruger
Website www.icc.govt.nz/YourCouncil

The Mayor of Invercargill is the head of the municipal government of Invercargill, New Zealand, and presides over the Invercargill City Council. The mayor is directly elected using a First Past the Post electoral system. The current mayor is Tim Shadbolt, who is also the longest serving mayor for Invercargill (17 years as of 2012). There have been 43 mayors so far.

History

Invercargill was first proclaimed a municipality in June 1871. On 26 August of that year, the first mayoral elections were held, and William Wood was elected as first mayor, defeating J.W. Mitchell by 191 to 140 votes. Unlike other municipalities, the mayor has always been elected "at large" (i.e., by the public), rather than (as for example in Christchurch) the councillors choosing one of their group.[1][2]

Originally, mayoral elections were held on an annual basis. From 1915, mayors were elected for a two-year term; and, as of 1935, the mayoral term was extended to three years.[3]

When David Roche resigned the mayoralty in 1887, council appointed Aaron Blacke as mayor until an extraordinary election could be held. This was not done in strict accordance with the law,[4] and Blacke is not included in official lists of Mayors of Invercargill.

Greater Invercargill was created on 10 January 1910 during Charles Steven Longuet's reign.[5] Longuet was succeeded by William Ott, who was twice elected unopposed[6][7] and did not seek re-election in 1912.[8]

Invercargill was proclaimed a city on 1 March 1930 during John D. Campbell's mayoralty.[5]

There has been one woman mayor so far – Eve Poole.[5] She has been the only Jewish mayor so far. A library building is named after her.[9] She died in office in 1992. Tim Shadbolt was invited to run in the resulting by-election and claimed a surprising victory.[10] Shadbolt is the current mayor.[11] The 2010 election win made Shadbolt the longest serving mayor in New Zealand, with this being his 8th mayoral term (his 6th term in Invercargill).[12]

Members of Parliament

Seven former mayors have also been Members of Parliament, and all of them represented the Invercargill electorate (the years in brackets give their term in Parliament):[13]

List of Mayors of Invercargill

Invercargill has had 43 mayors so far:[5][14][15]

Name Term Thumbnail
1 William Wood 1871–1873
2 George Lumsden 1873–1874
3 Thomas Pratt 1874–1875
4 John Walker Mitchell 1875–1876
5 John Cuthbertson 1876–1877
6 Joseph Hatch 1877–1878
George Lumsden, 2nd period 1878–1879
7 George Goodwillie 1879–1880
8 Nicholas Johnson 1880–1881
9 Henry Jaggers 1881–1882
10 John Kingsland 1882–1883
11 William Shirreffs Moir 1883–1884
12 George Froggatt 1884–1885
13 John Lyon McDonald 1885–1886
14 David Roche 1886–1887
Aaron Blacke[note 1] 1887
15 Edwin Alfred Tapper 1887–1888
16 Thomas Fleming 1888–1889
John Walker Mitchell, 2nd period 1889–1890
17 William Horatio Hall 1890–1891
18 James Walker Bain 1891–1892
19 Duncan McFarlane 1892–1893
20 Andrew Raeside 1893–1894
21 William Benjamin Scandrett[16] 1894–1895
22 John Sinclair 1895–1896
23 Josiah Hanan 1896–1897
24 Hugh Mair[17] 1897–1898
25 John Stead 1898–1899
26 James Smith Goldie 1899–1901
27 Charles Stephen Longuet 1901–1903[18]
George Froggatt, 2nd period 1903–1904[19]
William Benjamin Scandrett, 2nd period 1904–1909
Charles Steven Longuet, 2nd period 1909–1910
28 William Ott 1910–1912
William Benjamin Scandrett, 3rd period 1912–1913
Duncan McFarlane, 2nd period 1913–1917
John Stead, 2nd period 1917–1921
29 John F. Lillicrap 1921–1923
30 Andrew Bain[20] 1923–1927
31 John Miller 1927–1929
32 John D. Campbell 1929–1931
John Miller, 2nd period 1931–1938
33 J. Ralph Hanan 1938–1941
34 John Robert Martin 1941–1942
35 Abraham Wachner 1942–1950
36 William Aitchison 1950
37 Brian Hewat 1950–1953
38 Adam Adamson[21] 1953–1962
39 Neil Watson 1962–1971
40 F. Russell Miller 1971–1983
41 Eve Poole 1983–1992
42 Tim Shadbolt 1993–1995
43 David Harrington 1995–1998
Tim Shadbolt, 2nd period 1998 – present
  1. Note that Blacke is not included in official lists of Mayors of Invercargill.

Notes

  1. "Invercargill, August 26th". Otago Witness (1031). 2 September 1871. p. 13. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  2. Cyclopedia Company Limited 1905, p. 795.
  3. Watt 1971, p. 142.
  4. Watt 1971, p. 143.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Mayors down the years". Invercargill City Council. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  6. "In other centres". The Press LXVI (13713). 21 April 1910. p. 8. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  7. "In other centres". The Press. LXVII (14028). 27 April 1911. p. 8. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  8. "From other Centres". Colonist LIV (13400). 25 April 1912. p. 7. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  9. "Government, education and health". Te Ara. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  10. McNeilly, Hamish (23 October 2008). "Tinny Tim". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
  11. "Tim Shadbolt wins sixth term". Invercargill City Council. 9 October 2010.
  12. "Tim Shadbolt earns mayoral record". ONE News/NewsTalk ZB. 9 October 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
  13. Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand parliamentary record, 1840–1984 (4 ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
  14. "Mayors 1888 to 1927". Invercargill City Council. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  15. "Mayors 1927 – today". Invercargill City Council. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  16. "Obituary". Evening Post xciv (73). 24 September 1917. p. 8. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
  17. Shaw, Peter (22 June 2007). "Mair, John Thomas 1876–1959". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
  18. "Installation of Mayor". Southland Times (19048). 16 May 1903. p. 1. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
  19. "Southland News Notes". Otago Witness (2617). 11 May 1904. p. 44. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
  20. "Bain Family". Bain Family. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
  21. "headstone". Retrieved 20 October 2010.

References