Mayor of Wellington

The mayor of Wellington is the head of the municipal government of the city of Wellington, one of 67 mayors in New Zealand; they preside over the Wellington City Council. The mayor is directly elected using the single transferable vote method of proportional representation.

The current mayor is Andrew Little, elected in October 2025 for a three-year-term.

History

The development of local government in Wellington was erratic. The first attempt to establish governmental institutions, the so-called "Wellington Republic", was short-lived and based on rules written by the New Zealand Company. Colonel William Wakefield was to be the first president.Template:Sfn

When the self-proclaimed government arrested a ship's captain for a violation of Wellington law, the Governor William Hobson quickly asserted British sovereignty over the whole of New Zealand, sending a warship and contingent of soldiers to Wellington Harbour and disbanding the council through a show of force.Template:Sfn

In January 1842, the Legislative Council in Auckland passed the Municipal Corporations Ordinance, and in May 1842 Wellington was officially proclaimed a borough, the first municipality with this status. The office of mayor was established, but there were only two holders of this office under the Ordinance. George Hunter received the most votes in the election for 12 Burgesses to the new council on 3 October 1842 and was declared mayor.Template:Sfn He died suddenly on 19 July 1843. William Guyton was then declared mayor, as runner-up in 1842.Template:Sfn

The British Government disallowed the Municipal Corporations Ordinance, but news of this did not reach Wellington until late September 1843, after the election had been held and a second Burgess Roll of qualified voters had been prepared, in 1843 (both Rolls are listed in Carman 1970). After a brief period of little local government, the Province of Wellington was established in 1852, and most of Wellington's affairs were handled by the provincial government.Template:Sfn

In 1863, a Town Board was established with three wards (Thorndon, Lambton, Te Aro), but no Mayor.Template:Sfn

On 16 September 1870, Wellington was officially incorporated as a city, and a new mayoralty created, which continues to be in place.Template:Sfn The establishment of the new council was primarily driven by John Plimmer, called by some the Father of Wellington.Template:Sfn Initially, the councillors elected one of their own as mayor towards the end of the year. The role was traditionally awarded to the longest serving councillor. The system changed upon the introduction of The Municipal Corporations Acts Amendment Act, 1875. It legislated that mayors must be elected at large by eligible voters.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The inaugural mayoral election was held in 1874 resulting in William Sefton Moorhouse being the first mayor to be elected directly by voters.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Since then the office of mayor has been held by 38 people. Five people have been mayor on two separate occasions, and the longest-serving mayor was Sir Frank Kitts, from 1956 to 1974. Tory Whanau, who held the office from 2022 to 2025, was the first Māori person to serve as mayor.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref>

List of mayors of Wellington

Key

	Template:Abbr	Name	Portrait	Term of office		Elections
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	-	George Hunter	File:George Hunter (mayor).jpg	3 October 1842	19 July 1843†	1842
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	-	William Guyton	File:William Guyton.jpg	26 July 1843	9 December 1843	Template:Sdash
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	1	Joe Dransfield	File:Joseph Dransfield.jpg	28 September 1870	17 December 1873	Template:Sdash
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	2	Charles Borlase	File:Charles Borlase.jpg	8 January 1874	28 January 1875	Template:Sdash
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	3	William Sefton Moorhouse	File:William Sefton Moorhouse1.jpg	28 January 1875	1 December 1875	1874
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	4	William Hutchison	File:William Hutchison, 1882.jpg	15 December 1875	19 December 1877	1875 • 1876
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	(1)	Joe Dransfield	File:Joseph Dransfield.jpg	19 December 1877	9 May 1879	1877 • 1878
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	5	George Allen	File:George Allen (mayor).jpg	10 May 1879	29 May 1879	Template:Sdash (Acting Mayor)
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	(4)	William Hutchison	File:William Hutchison, 1882.jpg	29 May 1879	30 November 1881	1879 • 1879 • 1880
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	6	George Fisher	File:George Fisher, between 1884 and 1890.jpg	30 November 1881	17 December 1885	1881 • 1882 1883 • 1884
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	7	Arthur Winton Brown	File:Arthur Winton Brown.jpg	17 December 1885	15 December 1886	1885
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	8	Sam Brown	File:Samuel Brown.jpg	15 December 1886	27 December 1888	1886 • 1887
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	9	John Duthie	File:John Duthie, ca 1900.jpg	27 December 1888	19 December 1889	1888
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	10	Charles Johnston	File:Charles J. Johnston.jpg	19 December 1889	23 December 1890	1889
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	(7)	Arthur Winton Brown	File:Arthur Winton Brown.jpg	23 December 1890	16 December 1891	1890
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	11	Francis Bell	File:Sir Francis Henry Dillon Bell, ca 1924.jpg	16 December 1891	20 December 1893	1891 • 1892
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	12	Alfred Brandon	File:Mayor Alfred de Bathe Brandon.jpg	20 December 1893	20 December 1894	1893
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	13	Charles Luke	File:Charles Manley Luke.jpg	20 December 1894	19 December 1895	1894
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	(6)	George Fisher	File:George Fisher, ca 1890s.jpg	19 December 1895	16 December 1896	1895
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	(11)	Francis Bell	File:Sir Francis Henry Dillon Bell, ca 1924.jpg	16 December 1896	15 December 1897	1896
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	14	John Blair	File:John Rutherford Blair.jpg	15 December 1897	21 December 1899	1897 • 1898
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	15	John Aitken	File:John Guthrie Wood Aitken, ca 1902-1908.jpg	21 December 1899	4 May 1905	1899 • 1901 • 1902 1903 • 1904
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	16	Thomas William Hislop	File:Thomas William Hislop, 1908.jpg	4 May 1905	5 May 1909	1905 • 1906 1907 • 1908
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	17	Alfred Newman	File:Alfred Kingcome Newman.jpg	5 May 1909	5 May 1910	1909
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	18	Thomas Wilford	File:Thomas Wilford, 1909.jpg	5 May 1910	2 May 1912	1910 • 1911
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	19	David McLaren	File:David McLaren.jpg	2 May 1912	8 May 1913	1912
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	20	John Luke	File:John Luke.jpg	8 May 1913	11 May 1921	1913 • 1914 • 1915 1917 • 1919
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	21	Robert Wright	File:Robert Alexander Wright.jpg	11 May 1921	13 May 1925	1921 • 1923
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	22	Charles Norwood	File:Charles Norwood.jpg	13 May 1925	11 May 1927	1925
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	23	George Troup	File:George Alexander Troup (1863–1941) by Stanley Polkinghorne Andrew (c.1879-1964) in 1927.jpg	11 May 1927	20 May 1931	1927 • 1929
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	24	Thomas Hislop	File:Thomas Charles Atkinson Hislop.jpg	20 May 1931	14 June 1944	1931 • 1933 • 1935 1938 • 1941
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	25	Will Appleton	File:Will Appleton.jpg	14 June 1944	6 December 1950	1944 • 1947
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	26	Robert Macalister	File:Robert Macalister.jpg	6 December 1950	6 December 1956	1950 • 1953
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	27	Frank Kitts	File:Frank Kitts, 1954.jpg	6 December 1956	13 November 1974	1956 • 1959 • 1962 1965 • 1968 • 1971
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	28	Michael Fowler	File:Mayor Michael Fowler (crop).jpg	13 November 1974	26 October 1983	1974 • 1977 • 1980
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	29	Ian Lawrence	File:Ian Lawrence, 1983 (crop).jpg	26 October 1983	30 October 1986	1983
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	30	Jim Belich	File:Jim Belich, 1990 (cropped).jpg	30 October 1986	28 October 1992	1986 • 1989
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	31	Fran Wilde	File:Fran Wilde (circa 1992-1995) (cropped).jpg	28 October 1992	28 October 1995	1992
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	32	Mark Blumsky	File:Mark Blumsky (cropped).jpg	28 October 1995	27 October 2001	1995 • 1998
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	33	Kerry Prendergast	File:Kerry Prendergast (circa 2000s) (cropped).jpg	27 October 2001	27 October 2010	2001 • 2004 • 2007
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	34	Celia Wade-Brown	File:Celia Wade-Brown, 2013 (cropped).jpg	27 October 2010	10 October 2016	2010 • 2013
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	35	Justin Lester	File:Justin Lester 2016 (centred crop).jpg	10 October 2016	19 October 2019	2016
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	36	Andy Foster	File:Official photo of Andy Foster (cropped).png	19 October 2019	15 October 2022	2019
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	37	Tory Whanau	File:Tory Whanau official portrait 2025 (cropped).jpg	15 October 2022	17 October 2025	2022
style="background:Template:Party color;"|	38	Andrew Little	File:Andrew Little October 2025 (further cropped).jpg	17 October 2025	Incumbent	2025

Deputy mayor of Wellington

Template:Infobox Political post The deputy mayor of Wellington is the deputy head of the municipal government of Wellington, New Zealand. They fill in for the mayor when they are absent, among other responsibilities.

List of deputy mayors

Key

	Template:Abbr	Name	Term of office		Mayor
			Start	EndTemplate:Efn
style="background:Template:Party color"|	1	John Smith	1910	1912	style="background:Template:Party color"|	Wilford
Vacant
style="background:Template:Party color"|	2	George Frost	1920	1921	style="background:Template:Party color"|	Luke
Vacant
style="background:Template:Party color"|	3	Martin Luckie	1923	1931	style="background:Template:Party color"|	Troup
style="background:Template:Party color"|	4	William Bennett	1931	1936†	rowspan=2 style="background:Template:Party color"|	Hislop
height=5 style="border-bottom:solid 0 grey; background:Template:Party color"|	(3)	Martin Luckie	1936	1947
height=5 style="border-top:solid 0 grey; background:Template:Party color"|					rowspan=2 style="background:Template:Party color"|	Appleton
style="background:Template:Party color"|	5	Robert Macalister	1947	1950
style="background:Template:Party color"|	6	William Stevens	1950	1953	rowspan=2 style="background:Template:Party color"|	Macalister
style="background:Template:Party color"|	7	Ernest Toop	1953	1956
style="background:Template:Party color"|	8	Harry Nankervis	1956	1960	rowspan=7 style="background:Template:Party color"|	Kitts
style="background:Template:Party color"|	9	Bill Arcus	1960	1962
style="background:Template:Party color"|	10	Denis McGrath	1962	1965
style="background:Template:Party color"|	11	Matt Benney	1965	1966
style="background:Template:Party color"|	12	Bob Archibald	1966	1970
style="background:Template:Party color"|	13	George Porter	1970	1971
style="background:Template:Party color"|	14	John Jeffries	1971	1974
style="background:Template:Party color"|	15	Ian Lawrence	1974	1983	style="background:Template:Party color"|	Fowler
style="background:Template:Party color"|	16	Gavin Wilson	1983	1986	style="background:Template:Party color"|	Lawrence
style="background:Template:Party color"|	17	Helene Ritchie	1986	1988	rowspan=2 style="border-bottom:solid 0 grey; background:Template:Party color"|	Belich
style="background:Template:Party color"|	18	Terry McDavitt	1988	1989
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Party color"|	19	David Watt	1989	1995	height=10 style="border-top:solid 0 grey; background:Template:Party color"|
style="background:Template:Party color"|					Wilde
style="background:Template:Party color"|	20	Kerry Prendergast	1995	2001	style="background:Template:Party color"|	Blumsky
style="background:Template:Party color"|	21	Alick Shaw	2001	2007	rowspan=2 style="background:Template:Party color"|	Prendergast
height=5 style="border-bottom:solid 0 grey; background:Template:Party color"|	22	Ian McKinnon	2007	2013
height=5 style="border-top:solid 0 grey; background:Template:Party color"|					rowspan=2 style="background:Template:Party color"|	Wade-Brown
style="background:Template:Party color"|	23	Justin Lester	2013	2016
style="background:Template:Party color"|	24	Paul Eagle	2016	2017	rowspan=2 style="background:Template:Party color"|	Lester
style="background:Template:Party color"|	25	Jill Day	2017	24 October 2019
style="background:Template:Party color"|	26	Sarah Free	24 October 2019<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	21 October 2022	style="background:Template:Party color"|	Foster
style="background:Template:Party color"|	27	Laurie Foon	21 October 2022<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	29 October 2025	style="background:Template:Party color"|	Whanau
style="background:Template:Party color"|	28	Ben McNulty	29 October 2025<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Incumbent	style="background:Template:Party color"|	Little

Timeline

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from: 03/10/1842 till: 19/07/1843 color:Ind text:"Hunter" fontsize:10
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from: 28/07/1843 till: 09/12/1843 color:Ind text:"Guyton" fontsize:10
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from: 19/12/1877 till: 09/05/1879 color:Ind text:"Dransfield" fontsize:10
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from: 08/01/1874 till: 28/01/1875 color:Ind text:"Borlase" fontsize:10
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from: 28/01/1875 till: 01/12/1875 color:Ind text:"Moorhouse" fontsize:10
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from: 10/05/1879 till: 27/05/1879 color:Ind text:"Allen" fontsize:10
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from: 19/12/1895 till: 16/12/1896 color:Ind text:"Fisher" fontsize:10
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from: 21/12/1897 till: 21/12/1899 color:Ind text:"Blair" fontsize:10
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from: 21/12/1899 till: 04/05/1905 color:Ind text:"Aitken" fontsize:10
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from: 04/05/1905 till: 05/05/1909 color:Ind text:"T. W. Hislop" fontsize:10
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from: 05/05/1909 till: 05/05/1910 color:Ind text:"Newman" fontsize:10
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from: 05/05/1910 till: 02/05/1912 color:Cit text:"Wilford" fontsize:10
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from: 08/05/1913 till: 11/05/1921 color:Cit text:"Luke" fontsize:10
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from: 11/05/1921 till: 13/05/1925 color:Cit text:"Wright" fontsize:10
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from: 13/05/1925 till: 11/05/1927 color:Cit text:"Norwood" fontsize:10
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from: 11/05/1927 till: 20/05/1931 color:Cit text:"Troup" fontsize:10
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from: 20/05/1931 till: 14/06/1944 color:Cit text:"T. Hislop" fontsize:10
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from: 19/06/1944 till: 06/12/1950 color:Cit text:"Appleton" fontsize:10
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from: 06/12/1950 till: 06/12/1956 color:Cit text:"Macalister" fontsize:10
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from: 06/12/1956 till: 13/11/1974 color:Lab text:"Kitts" fontsize:10
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from: 13/11/1974 till: 26/10/1983 color:Cit text:"Fowler" fontsize:10
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from: 26/10/1983 till: 30/10/1986 color:Cit text:"Lawrence" fontsize:10
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from: 30/10/1986 till: 10/10/1992 color:Lab text:"Belich" fontsize:10
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from: 10/10/1992 till: 14/10/1995 color:Lab text:"Wilde" fontsize:10
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from: 14/10/1995 till: 13/10/2001 color:Ind text:"Blumsky" fontsize:10
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from: 13/10/2001 till: 27/10/2010 color:Ind text:"Prendergast" fontsize:10
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from: 27/10/2010 till: 10/10/2016 color:Ind text:"Wade-Brown" fontsize:10
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from: 10/10/2016 till: 19/10/2019 color:Lab text:"Lester" fontsize:10
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from: 19/10/2019 till: 15/10/2022 color:Ind text:"Foster" fontsize:10
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from: 15/10/2022 till: 17/10/2025 color:Ind text:"Whanau" fontsize:10
 bar:Little
from: 17/10/2025 till: $now color:Lab text:"Little" fontsize:10

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Sources

• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• The Birth of a City: Wellington 1840–1843 by A. H. Carman (1970, Wright & Carman, Wellington)
• No Mean City by Stuart Perry (1969 booklet, Wellington City Council) includes a paragraph and a portrait or photo of each mayor, including Hunter & Guyton.

External links

• Mayors of Wellington (with photos, from Wellington City Archives)