Mayor of Hastings, New Zealand
Head of the municipal government of Hastings
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The mayor of Hastings is the elected head of local government in the Hastings District of New Zealand's North Island; one of 67 mayors in the country. The principal town of the district (and its namesake) is Hastings. The mayor presides over the Hastings District Council and is directly elected using the first-past-the-post method.
| Mayor of Hastings | |
|---|---|
| Te Koromatua o Heretaunga | |
| |
 Incumbent since 17 October 2025Wendy Schollum | |
| Style | His/Her Worship |
| Seat | Hastings |
| Term length | 3 years, renewable |
| Formation | 1886 |
| First holder | Robert Wellwood |
| Deputy | Michael Fowler[1] |
| Salary | $160,955[2] |
| Website | Official website |
The first mayor was Robert Wellwood, and the current mayor is Wendy Schollum, first elected in the 2025 election.
List of mayors
| No. | Affiliation | Mayor | Portrait | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Independent | Robert Wellwood (1836–1927) |
.png) |
1886–1887 | |
| 2 | Independent | George Ellis (1837–1928) |
1887–1890 | ||
| 3 | Independent | William Fletcher Burnett (1848–1893) |
.png) |
1890–1891 | |
| (2) | Independent | George Ellis (1837–1928) |
1891–1894 | ||
| 4 | Independent | Cecil Fitzroy (1844–1917) |
1894–1899 | ||
| 5 | Independent | William Dennett (1845–1928) |
.png) |
1899–1904 | |
| 6 | Independent | William Lane | 1904–1905 | ||
| (5) | Independent | William Dennett (1845–1928) |
|
1905–1906 | |
| 7 | Independent | Thomas Thompson (1855–1938) |
1906–1909 | ||
| 8 | Independent | John Miller (1869–1940) |
 |
1909–1911 | |
| 9 | Independent | James Garnett (1856–1913) |
 |
1911–1913[a] | |
| 10 | Independent | William Hart (1863–1939) |
 |
1913–1917 | |
| 11 | Independent | Horace Simson (1874–1954) |
.jpg) |
1917–1919 | |
| 12 | Independent | George Ebbett (1872–1954) |
1919–1921 | ||
| (10) | Independent | William Hart (1863–1939) |
|
1921–1922[b] | |
| 13 | Independent | George Maddison (1887–1949) |
.jpg) |
1922–1929 | |
| 14 | Independent | George Roach (1866–1934) |
1929 | ||
| – | Position vacant (November 1929)[c] | ||||
| (14) | Independent | George Roach (1866–1934) |
1929–1933[d] | ||
| (13) | Independent | George Maddison (1887–1949) |
|
1933–1941 | |
| 15 | Citizens | Algernon Rainbow (1885–1969) |
1941–1947 | ||
| 16 | Citizens | Robert Douglas Brown (1901–1963) |
1947–1953 | ||
| 17 | Ed Bate (1901–1999) |
1953–1959 | |||
| 18 | Ron Giorgi (1907–1997) |
1959–1974 | |||
| 19 | Jim O'Connor (1936–2000) |
1974–1986 | |||
| 20 | Independent | Jeremy Dwyer (1947–2005) |
1986–2001 | ||
| 21 | Independent | Lawrence Yule (b. 1963) |
.jpg) |
2001–2017 | |
| 22 | Independent | Sandra Hazlehurst (b. 1959) |
.jpg) |
2017–2025 | |
| 23 | Independent | Wendy Schollum | .png) |
2025–present | |
List of deputy mayors
† Died in office
| Name | Term | Mayor |
|---|---|---|
| J. Nelson Williams | October–November 1894[7][8][9] | Fitzroy |
| W. Beilby | September–December 1899[10][11][12] | |
| George Ellis | January–February 1907[13][14] | Thompson |
| A. A. George | fl.1908[15][16] | |
| W. H. Smith | 1909–c. 1910[17][18] | Miller |
| Thomas Styles | c. 1910–1921[19][20] | |
| Miller? | ||
| Garnett | ||
| Hart | ||
| Simson | ||
| Ebbett | ||
| D. E. Davis | 1921–1922[21][22] | Hart |
| George Maddison | 1922[22][23] | |
| T. Clarkson | 1922–1923[23][24] | Maddison |
| F. W. Cook | 1923–1925[25][26] | |
| Matthew Johnson | 1925–1927[†][27][28] | |
| S. J. McKee (acting)[e] | 1927–1929[29][30] | |
| Robert Henderson | 1929–1933[5][31] | Roach |
| Vacant[c] | ||
| Roach | ||
| Algernon Rainbow | 1933–1941[32][33] | Maddison |
| S. Ashcroft | 1941–1946[34] | Rainbow |
| Brown | ||
| Alexander Kirkpatrick | 1946–1962[34][35][36] | Brown |
| Bate | ||
| Giorgi | ||
| J. K. Agnew | fl.1962–1968[37][36] | Giorgi |
| Unknown | c. 1968–c. 1971 | |
| E. J. Velvin | fl.1971[36] | |
| Unknown | c. 1971–c. 1974 | |
| J. C. Mackersey | fl.1974[36] | Connor |
| Unknown | c. 1974–1989 | – |
| Selwyn John Begley | 1989–1992[38] | Dwyer |
| Unknown | 1992–c. 1994 | |
| Harry Romanes | fl.1994[39] | |
| Unknown | c. 1994–2001 | |
| Cynthia Bowers | 2001–2016[40] | Yule |
| Sandra Hazlehurst | 2016–2017[41][42] | |
| Simon Nixon (acting) | 2017[43] | Hazlehurst (acting) |
| Tania Kerr | 2017–2025[44][45] | Hazlehurst |
| Michael Fowler | 2025–present[1] | Schollum |
Elections
Hastings Borough Council
Annual
- 1886
- 1887
- 1888
- 1889
- 1890
- 1891
- 1892
- 1893
- 1894
- 1895
- 1896
- 1897
- 1898
- 1899
- 1900
- 1901
- 1902
- 1903
- 1904
- 1905
- 1906
- 1907
Biennial
- 1909
- 1911
- 1913
- 1915
- 1917
- 1919
- 1921
- 1923
- 1925
- 1927
- 1929
1931[f]- 1933
- 1935
Triennial
- 1938
- 1941
- 1944
- 1947
- 1950
- 1953
Hastings City Council
- 1956
- 1959
- 1962
- 1965
- 1968
- 1971
- 1974
- 1977
- 1980
- 1983
- 1986
Hastings District Council
Notes
- Mayor George Roach was briefly suspended from the mayoralty for breaching the Municipal Corporations Act 1928. During this time, there was no mayor, and the deputy mayor, Robert Henderson, carried out the duties of the mayoral office.[5] Roach was reinstalled as mayor less than a month later after being re-elected without opposition.[6]
- The 1931 elections were not held in Napier and Hastings due to the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake.
- Johnson passed his deputy-mayoral duties to McKee due to a bout of illness. McKee was to act until Johnson was fit enough to return. Johnson did not formally return to the position and died in 1929.
- Election cancelled due to 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake