Mayor of Wanganui
Encyclopedia
The Mayor of Wanganui is the head of the Whanganui District Council
. Annette Main is the current mayor.
's city charter was cancelled, the Mayor was the head of the Wanganui City Council. Local government reform of 1989 amalgamated various city and council councils - Wanganui District Council includes the old Wanganui City Council, Wanganui County Council and a part of the Waitotara County Council.
Wanganui Town Board was first formed in 1862, and its first chairman was J Handley who served in that capacity until 1864. The Board became a Borough Council in 1872 until 1924, when Wanganui was granted city status. It continued as the City Council until 1989.
The motto of the then Wanganui City, and now Wanganui District Council, is 'Sans Dieu Rien' ('Without God, we are nothing').
Michael Laws defeated longstanding mayor Chas Poynter (1986–2004) who had served on the Wanganui council from 1977. Laws did not stand again in the 2010 local elections
, and Annette Main was elected, to take office in October 2010.
However, Wanganui's most controversial mayor, by far, was well regarded lawyer Charles E MacKay who was found guilty of the attempted murder of poet D'Arcy Cresswell - a charge stemming from an attempt to allegedly blackmail Mayor MacKay for homosexual advances.
MacKay was arrested, pleaded guilty and imprisoned. He was released from prison in 1927, travelled to England and became a journalist. He was killed in 1929 during riots in Munich, Germany whilst reporting the civil unrest.
The following list shows the mayors where the year of mayoralty is known:
[list incomplete]
[list incomplete]
[list incomplete]
[list incomplete]
Whanganui District
Whanganui District is one of the districts of New Zealand.Wanganui District Council resulted from amalgamation of Wanganui and Waitotara county councils and Wanganui City Council....
. Annette Main is the current mayor.
History
Prior to 1989, when WanganuiWanganui
Whanganui , also spelled Wanganui, is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of the Manawatu-Wanganui region....
's city charter was cancelled, the Mayor was the head of the Wanganui City Council. Local government reform of 1989 amalgamated various city and council councils - Wanganui District Council includes the old Wanganui City Council, Wanganui County Council and a part of the Waitotara County Council.
Wanganui Town Board was first formed in 1862, and its first chairman was J Handley who served in that capacity until 1864. The Board became a Borough Council in 1872 until 1924, when Wanganui was granted city status. It continued as the City Council until 1989.
The motto of the then Wanganui City, and now Wanganui District Council, is 'Sans Dieu Rien' ('Without God, we are nothing').
Michael Laws defeated longstanding mayor Chas Poynter (1986–2004) who had served on the Wanganui council from 1977. Laws did not stand again in the 2010 local elections
New Zealand local elections, 2010
The 2010 New Zealand local elections were triennial elections to select local government officials and district health board members. All elections are conducted by postal ballot, with election day being Saturday 9 October 2010.Elected were:...
, and Annette Main was elected, to take office in October 2010.
However, Wanganui's most controversial mayor, by far, was well regarded lawyer Charles E MacKay who was found guilty of the attempted murder of poet D'Arcy Cresswell - a charge stemming from an attempt to allegedly blackmail Mayor MacKay for homosexual advances.
MacKay was arrested, pleaded guilty and imprisoned. He was released from prison in 1927, travelled to England and became a journalist. He was killed in 1929 during riots in Munich, Germany whilst reporting the civil unrest.
List of Mayors of Wanganui
The following list are incomplete. In the first list, the sources don't give the year for the mayoralty:- Gilbert CarsonGilbert Carson (New Zealand)Gilbert Carson was an independent conservative Member of Parliament in New Zealand.Carson was a mayor of Wanganui for three consecutive terms.He was elected to the Wanganui electorate in the 1896 general election, was defeated in 1899....
(mayor for three consecutive terms) - A. J. Parsons
The following list shows the mayors where the year of mayoralty is known:
[list incomplete]
- William Hutchison (1873–1874)
[list incomplete]
- Thomas Bamber (1879–80)
[list incomplete]
- Frederick Morris Spurdle (1884–86)
[list incomplete]
- Henry Anthony Nathan (1890–91)
- Freeman R. Jackson (1892–96)
- James Lockhart Stevenson (1896–97)
- Alexander Hatrick (1897–1904)
- Arthur BignellArthur BignellArthur Bignell was Mayor of Wanganui from 1904 - 1906, and a notable builder in Oamaru, the West Coast, Wanganui and the Rangitikei district.-Family & Emigration:...
(1904–06) - CE MacKay (1906–12, 1912–13, & 1915–20) – resigned & imprisoned
- E Liffiton (1912)
- TB Williams (1913–15 & 1920–24)
- H Gibbons MBE (1924–27)
- W J Rogers OBE (1927–31 & 1935–53)
- N G Armstrong (1931–35)
- E A Millward OBE (1953–62) – retired 1962
- Reg Andrews OBE (1962–74) – retired 1974
- Ron Russell QSO (1974–83) – retired 1983
- Doug Turney (1983–86) – defeated by Chas Poynter (1986)
- Chas PoynterChas PoynterCharles "Chas" Poynter, QSO, JP was the Mayor of Wanganui from 1986 to 2004. He was prominent in opposing the Māori occupation of Moutoa Gardens in 1995....
QSO (1986–2004) – defeated by Michael Laws (2004) - Michael LawsMichael LawsMichael Laws is a New Zealand politician, broadcaster and writer/columnist. He served two terms as a Member of the New Zealand Parliament, representing the National Party and New Zealand First . He was elected as Mayor of Wanganui in 2004, was re-elected in 2007 but announced his retirement from...
(2004–10) – retired 2010 - Annette Main (2010 – present)