Mayor of Grey

The Mayor of Grey, often referred to as the Mayor of Greymouth, officiates over the Grey District of New Zealand which is administered by the Grey District Council, with its seat in Greymouth. The current mayor is Tania Gibson. Two predecessors to this office were the mayor of Greymouth, officiating over the Greymouth Borough Council from 1868, and from 1877 the chairman of the Grey County Council.

Mayor of Grey
Incumbent Tania Gibson since 2019
Style	His/Her Worship
Seat	Greymouth
Term length	Three years, renewable
Inaugural holder	Barry Dallas
Formation	1989
Deputy	Allan Gibson[1]
Salary	$116,626[2]
Website	Official website

History

The Greymouth Borough was constituted in 1868 under the Municipal Corporations Act, 1867. This covered the urban area of Greymouth.^[3]

After provincial government had been abolished in 1876, counties were formed in the following year. One of those was Grey County that covered an area around Greymouth.^[4] The first chairman of Grey County was Arthur Guinness.^[5]

Greymouth Borough and Grey County were abolished in the 1989 local government reforms, when the areas became part of Grey District. Since then, the head of the administration has been the mayor of Grey.

List of mayors and chairmen

Mayors of Greymouth Borough

The first elections were held in Greymouth Borough on 26 August 1868, when nine councillors were elected.^[6] Even before the councillors met for the first time, it was discovered that the legislation required for three of them to retire by rotation on 10 September.^[7][8][9] All three councillors stood for re-election,^[10] but one of them was replaced by Edward Masters.^[11] At the first meeting of the council in the following week, Masters was elected the first mayor of Greymouth by his fellow councillors.^[12][13]

Barry Dallas was mayor of Greymouth from 1966 to 1968, and from 1980 until the borough's abolition in 1989. He then became the inaugural mayor of the new Grey District.^[14]

	Name	Portrait	Term	Notes
1	Edward Masters		1868–1870	[13]
2	Joseph Kilgour		1870	[15]
3	Edward Wickes		1871–1872	[15]
4	George Glen		1873	[15]
5	William Simpson Smith		1874	[15]
6	George William Moss		1875–1876	[15]First Ratepayer Election
7	Francis Hamilton		1877–1878	[15]
8	Richard Nancarrow		1879–1881	[15]
9	James Barkley		1882–1883	[15][16]
10	Fritz Carl Dupre		1884	[15]
11	John Griffiths Thomas		1885	[15]
8	Richard Nancarrow		1886	second period[15]
12	Joseph Petrie		1887–1888	[15]Mayor paid 100pounds annually. Last Borough to pay in NZ
13	John Mitchell		1889–1890	[15]
14	Andrew Matheson		1891–1892
15	William Robert Kettle		1893–1894	[15][17]
16	Frederick Barrington Waters		1894	[16]
17	Felix Campbell		1894–1895	[15][18]
18	Jacob Theodore Skoglund		1896–1898	[15]
14	Andrew Matheson		1899–1903	second period
19	Jesse Steer		1903–1904	[15][19]
20	James Andrew Petrie		1904–1907	[19][20]
12	Joseph Petrie		1907–1908	second period[20][21]
21	Thomas Coates		1908–1910	[22][23]
22	Alfred Charles Russell		1910–1912	[23][24]
23	George Edward Perkins		1912–1917	[24][25]
24	James Daniel Lynch		1917–1923	[16][26]
25	William Henry Parfitt		1923–1927	[16]
26	John Webber Greenslade		1927–1935	[27] 9 years service
27	William Meldrum		1935–1938	[28]
28	Fred Kitchingham		1938–1947	[29] 9 years service
29	Fred Boustridge		1947–1950
30	Frederick Lovell Turley		1950–1953
31	Frederick William Baillie		1954–1965	[16][30] 12 years service
32	Barry Dallas		1965–1968
33	Ossie Jackson		1968–1980	12 years service
32	Barry Dallas		1980–1989	second period

Chairmen of the Grey County

Grey County chairmen

	Name	Term	Notes
1	Arthur Guinness	1877–1884
2	John Mangan Clifford	1885	[31]
3	John Warren	1886	[32]
1	Arthur Guinness	1887	2nd period
4	Denis Ryall	1888	[33]
5	James Marshall	1889
6	Patrick Foley	1890	[34]
7	William McKechnie	1891	[35]
8	J. McCarthy	1892
9	Michael Hannan	1893
10	R. Larkin	1894
11	James Finn	1895	[32]
12	James Hargreaves	1896	[32]
13	S. R. Harris	1897
8	J. McCarthy	1898	2nd period
9	Michael Hannan	1899	2nd period
5	James Marshall	1900	2nd period
7	William McKechnie	1901	2nd period
4	Denis Ryall	1902	2nd period
10	R. Larkin	1903	2nd period
11	James Finn	1904	2nd period
12	James Hargreaves	1905	2nd period
13	S. R. Harris	1906	2nd period
8	J. McCarthy	1907	3rd period
9	Michael Hannan	1908	3rd period
5	James Marshall	1909	3rd period
14	John Tindale	1910	[32]
15	John Ryall	1911	[32]
10	R. Larkin	1912	3rd period
9	Michael Hannan	1913	4th period
8	J. McCarthy	1914	4th period
16	P. Ryder	1915
15	John Ryall	1916	2nd period
9	Michael Hannan	1917	5th period
8	J. McCarthy	1918	5th period
17	D. Baybutt	1919
18	J. P. Irvine	1920
19	A. Blair	1921
8	J. McCarthy	1921	6th period
20	Jack Hannan	1922–1923
21	P. Donnellan	1924
20	Jack Hannan	1925	2nd period
17	D. Baybutt	1926	2nd period
15	John Ryall	1927	3rd period
22	A. Robinson	1928
20	Jack Hannan	1929	3rd period
23	W. T. Ogilvie	1930
15	John Ryall	1931	4th period
20	Jack Hannan	1932	4th period
24	G. Blair	1933
25	J. Mulcare	1934
20	Jack Hannan	1935	5th period
15	John Ryall	1936	5th period
20	Jack Hannan	1937–1938	6th period
15	John Ryall	1939	6th period
20	Jack Hannan	1940	7th period
26	H. G. Carter	1941
25	J. Mulcare	1942	2nd period
27	W. Fisher	1943
28	R. Clark	1944
15	John Ryall	1945	7th period
20	Jack Hannan	1946–1947	8th period
29	J. Ryan	1948
25	J. Mulcare	1949	3rd period
20	Jack Hannan	1950	9th period
28	R. Clark	1951	2nd period
30	T. G. Jamieson	1952
15	John Ryall	1953	8th period; died 26 May 1953
31	J. Clayton	1953–1954
29	J. Ryan	1955	2nd period
32	D. J. Ryall	1956
33	M. K. Molloy	1957
34	J. Shields	1958
31	J. Clayton	1959	2nd period
35	D. R. Gibbens	1960
32	D. J. Ryall	1961	2nd period
36	A. D. Kennedy	1962
33	M. K. Molloy	1963	2nd period
35	D. R. Gibbens	1964	2nd period
37	R. Aynsley	1965
31	J. Clayton	1966	3rd period
33	M. K. Molloy	1966	3rd period
38	B. Myer	1967
32	D. J. Ryall	1968–1970	3rd period
39	Doug Truman	1971–1978
40	C. H. McLellan	1979–1980
41	Bob Smithem	1981–1989

Mayors of Grey District

	Name	Portrait	Term	Notes
1	Barry Dallas		1989–1991	[36] 14 years service of Greymouth and Grey District
2	Ron Hibbs		1991–1998	[36]
3	Kevin Brown		1998–2004	[37]
4	Tony Kokshoorn		2004–2019	[37] 15 years service. Longest-serving mayor of Greymouth and Grey District
5	Tania Gibson		2019–present	[37] Greymouth's first woman mayor

References

1. "Mayor & Councillors". www.greydc.govt.nz. Grey District Council. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
2. Edmunds, Susan (13 June 2024). "How much your local council gets paid". RNZ. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
3. "Untitled". Grey River Argus. Vol. VI, no. 394. 23 July 1868. p. 2. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
4. McLintock, A. H., ed. (23 April 2009) [First published in 1966]. "Westland Province and Provincial District". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage / Te Manatū Taonga. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
5. Scholefield, Guy, ed. (1940). A Dictionary of New Zealand Biography : A–L (PDF). Vol. I. Wellington: Department of Internal Affairs. pp. 335f. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
6. "West Coast Times". West Coast Times. No. 915. 28 August 1868. p. 2. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
7. McLintock, A. H., ed. (22 April 2009) [First published in 1966]. "Government – Local Government". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage / Te Manatū Taonga. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
8. "Untitled". Grey River Argus. Vol. VI, no. 412. 3 September 1868. p. 2. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
9. "Election Notice". Grey River Argus. Vol. VI, no. 414. 8 September 1868. p. 3. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
10. "Election Notice". Grey River Argus. Vol. VI, no. 415. 10 September 1868. p. 3. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
11. "Election Notice". Grey River Argus. Vol. VI, no. 416. 12 September 1868. p. 3. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
12. "Borough Council". Grey River Argus. Vol. VI, no. 418. 17 September 1868. p. 2. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
13. Cyclopedia Company Limited (1906). "Greymouth Corporation". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Nelson, Marlborough & Westland Provincial Districts. Christchurch: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
14. "Photograph: Barry Dallas". West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
15. Cyclopedia Company Limited (1906). "Ex-mayors". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Nelson, Marlborough & Westland Provincial Districts. Christchurch: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
16. Buckley, Frances (2003). "Greymouth street names: a short history". Grey District Library. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
17. "Mr. William R. Kettle". Auckland Star. 24 November 1928. p. 15. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
18. "The mayoral election". Grey River Argus. 20 November 1894. p. 2. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
19. "Mayoral election". Grey River Argus. 28 April 1904. p. 3. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
20. "Untitled". West Coast Times. 1 May 1907. p. 2. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
21. "Obituary". Grey River Argus. 5 May 1908. p. 3. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
22. "Borough Council". Grey River Argus. 9 May 1908. p. 3. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
23. "Mayoral elections". Taranaki Daily News. 28 April 1910. p. 5. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
24. "Mayoral installation". Grey River Argus. 2 May 1912. p. 3. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
25. "Council expresses good-will". Grey River Argus. 20 April 1917. p. 3. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
26. "Greymouth mayoralty". The Evening Post. 5 March 1923. p. 8. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
27. "Former mayor honoured". The Press. 28 June 1935. p. 7. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
28. Grover, Ray. "William Meldrum". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
29. "Municipal elections". The Evening Post. 12 May 1938. p. 7. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
30. "No. 42554". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1961. p. 40.
31. "Public Notices". Grey River Argus. Vol. XXXI, no. 5335. 2 November 1885. p. 2. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
32. "Grey County Council". Grey River Argus. 27 November 1914. p. 8. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
33. "United Press Association". The Evening Post. Vol. XXXIV, no. 125. 24 November 1887. p. 2. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
34. "Government Notifications". West Coast Times. No. 2416. 26 December 1876. p. 1. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
35. "To His Royal Highness the Duke of York". Grey River Argus. Vol. LVII, no. 10520. 14 June 1901. p. 2. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
36. O'Connor, Sarah-Jane (11 July 2015). "Obituary: ex-Grey Mayor Ronald Hibbs". The Press. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
37. "Miners' mayor". The Press. 27 November 2010. Retrieved 12 September 2015.