Mayor of Petone

Mayor of Petone
Coat of arms of the Borough of Petone
StyleHis/Her Worship
Term lengthThree years, renewable
Inaugural holderWilliam James Kirk
Formation9 December 1882
Final holderTed Woolf
Abolished14 October 1989
Superseded byMayor of Lower Hutt

The Mayor of Petone officiated over the Petone Borough of New Zealand, which was administered by the Petone Borough Council. The office existed from 1882 until 1989, when Petone Borough was amalgamated into the Hutt City Council as part of the 1989 local government reforms. There were seventeen holders of the office.

History

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Petone was established in 1882 with a Town Board which was presided over by a chairman who was the equivalent of a mayor but was elected by the board members rather than the public. When Petone was proclaimed a borough in 1888 The chairman of the Town Board did the duties of the mayor until an election was held for the mayoralty in July ahead of the scheduled election in November. Samuel Raymond Johnson was the first elected mayor.[1]

There were two sets of mayors who were related. George Thomas London and his son, George, were both mayors.[2] Likewise Joseph Mitchell and Lily Annie Huggan were spouses. When Joe died in 1957 his wife won the by-election to replace him as mayor.[3] In 1968, George Gee, a Chinese-New Zealand greengrocer, was elected the mayor of Petone, the first Asian mayor in New Zealand history.[4]

Upon amalgamation into the Hutt City Council, Petone's last mayor, Ted Woolf, stood for Mayor of Lower Hutt in 1989. He was unsuccessful but was elected a councillor for the new Harbour Ward.[5]

List of mayors

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Mayors of Petone were:[6]

Key

  Independent   Labour   Citizens'   United Petone

†: Died in office

# Name Portrait Term of office
1 William James Kirk 9 December 1882 31 July 1888
2 Samuel Raymond Johnson 31 July 1888 18 December 1889
3 Richard Clement Kirk 18 December 1889 16 December 1891
4 Richard Mothes 16 December 1891 13 December 1892
(3) Richard Clement Kirk 13 December 1892 14 May 1901
(4) Richard Mothes 14 May 1901 22 May 1903
5 George Thomas London 22 May 1903 1 May 1907
6 John William McEwan 1 May 1907 4 May 1927
7 David McKenzie 4 May 1927 2 October 1934†
8 Albert Scholefield 8 October 1934 18 May 1938
9 George London 18 May 1938 1 June 1944
10 Harold Green 1 June 1944 19 November 1947
11 Alec MacFarlane 19 November 1947 18 November 1950
12 Joe Huggan 18 November 1950 6 September 1957†
- James Cumming
(Acting Mayor) 		6 September 1957 1 October 1957
13 Annie Huggan 1 October 1957 9 October 1965
14 Ralph Love 9 October 1965 27 January 1967
- Joe May
(Acting Mayor) 		27 January 1967 26 March 1967
(14) Ralph Love 26 March 1967 12 October 1968
15 George Gee 12 October 1968 28 October 1980
16 Ron Marston 28 October 1980 11 October 1986
17 Ted Woolf 11 October 1986 14 October 1989

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The School Morality Question". The Evening Post. Vol. XXXVI, no. 27. 1 August 1888. p. 2.
  2. ^ "The London Mayors of Petone". Hutt City Libraries. 2 September 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  3. ^ McDonnell, Hilda. "Huggan, Joseph Mitchell and Huggan, Lily Annie". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  4. ^ "Greengrocer First Chinese To Head Municipality". The Evening Post. 14 October 1968. p. 12.
  5. ^ "Poll results". The Evening Post. 16 October 1989. p. 4.
  6. ^ Kenneally, Joseph Mervyn; Kenneally, Betty May (1983). Past Days in Lower Hutt and Petone. Colonial Associates. ISBN 0908664001.
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