Mayor of Whakatāne

The mayor of Whakatāne is the head of the municipal government in Whakatāne District, New Zealand. The mayor presides over the Whakatane District Council, which was first formed in 1976 following an amalgamation, with further changes taking place in 1989.^[1]

The current mayor of Whakatāne is Victor Luca, who was elected in 2022.

Role

The mayor of Whakatāne leads the Whakatāne District Council which includes the deputy mayor and nine councillors.^[2] The mayor is a member of all of the council's committees excluding the Hearings Committee and is deputy chairperson of the Policy Committee and chairperson of the Audit and Risk Committee.^[3] Additionally, the mayor is a member of joint committees and groups including the Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group, the Regional Transport Committee, the Commercial Advisory Board, and the Eastern Bay of Plenty Joint Committee (which is composed of members of the Whakatane, Kawerau, and Opotiki District Councils and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council).^[4]

Elections for the mayor take place every three years as part of the local elections in New Zealand, with the last election being held in 2019. The mayor received a salary of $121,899 plus expenses as of 2020,^[5] and holds the title of His/Her Worship.

Lists of mayors

The following are the mayors of Whakatāne since 1917. Prior to this, the town of Whakatāne was part of Whakatane County. In 1914 the Whakatane Town Board was formed, and it ceded from Whakatane County the following year. The town board was headed by a chairman. Whakatane Borough Council was formed in 1917, headed by a mayor. Whakatane Borough and Whakatane County merged with the Whakatane Harbour Board in 1976 forming the Whakatane District Council. In 1989 the Whakatane District Council amalgamated with Murupara Borough Council and also added a portion of the Opotiki District and a portion of the Taupo District, forming the Whakatane District Council as it is today.^[6]

Bill Sullivan was chairman of the Whakatane Harbour Board (1923–1926) and mayor of the Whakatane Borough Council (1925–1938) before representing the Bay of Plenty electorate in the House of Representatives (1941–1957).^[7]

Whakatane Borough Council

	Name	Portrait	Term
1	George Brabant		1917–1919
2	Frank Moore		1919–1921
3	William Richards Boon		1921–1923
4	Douglas Charles Chalmers		1923–1925
5	John Moffat Turnbull		1925
6	Bill Sullivan		1925–1938
7	Brian Barry		1938–1950
8	Sidney Shapley		1950–1956
9	Harry Warren		1956–1965
10	Rex Morpeth		1965–1976

Whakatāne District Council

	Name	Portrait	Term
1	Rex Morpeth		1976–1980
2	Jack Gow		1980–1986
3	Bob Byrne		1986–1989
4	Lorraine Brill		1989–1992
5	Don Herdman		1992–1995
6	Tony Bonne		1995–1998
7	Colin Hammond		1998–2004
8	Colin Holmes		2004–2010
6	Tony Bonne		2010–2019
9	Judy Turner		2019–2022
10	Victor Luca		2022–present

References

1. "Council History". Whakatāne District Council. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
2. "Mayor and Councillors Profiles". Whakatāne District Council. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
3. "Tony Bonne". Whakatane District Council. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
4. "Committees and Advisory Boards". Whakatane District Council. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
5. "Elected Members Remuneration". Whakatane District Council. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
6. "Historical information" (PDF). Whakatane District Council. December 2010. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
7. Templeton, Hugh. "Sullivan, William". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 16 August 2012.