Sir Harry Heaton Barker (18 July 1898 – 18 May 1994) was a New Zealand newspaper journalist and editor, and local politician. He was

mayor of Gisborne The Mayor of Gisborne officiates over the Gisborne District Gisborne District or the Gisborne Region (Māori: ''Te Tairāwhiti'' or ''Te Tai Rāwhiti'') is a local government area of northeastern New Zealand. It is governed by Gisborne Dist ...

for 27 years.

Early life and family

Barker was born in Nelson, New Zealand on 18 July 1898. His father, John Heaton Barker, was the founder of the

Four Square Four square is a team sport played among two teams with two players each on a square court divided into four quadrants: A, B, C, and D (usually numbers 3, 4, 2, and 1, respectively, depending on the court.) The square that a player gets to befo ...

supermarket chain. The family moved to

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

in 1902 and

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

in 1912. Barker spent his final school year at

New Plymouth Boys' High School New Plymouth Boys' High School is a single-sex boys' state secondary school in New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand. The school currently caters for approximately 1300 students, including 210 boarders, on its site. The school often collaborate ...

as a boarder. Barker enlisted for military service during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, initially falsifying his age until he was found out. He fell ill in the

1918 influenza pandemic The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

. He came to Gisborne in 1920 to work as a reporter for '' The Gisborne Times'' (which, after a couple of mergers, became ''The Gisborne Herald'' in 1939). He moved to

in 1923 on his father's request, but soon returned to Gisborne, this time for the rest of his life. In Gisborne on 18 February 1926, Barker married Anita Pearle Greaves; there were no children from the marriage.

Political career

He stood in the and s in the electorate for the National Party, but could not unseat the incumbent, David Coleman. From 1950, he was mayor of Gisborne for nine consecutive three-year terms. He died on 18 May 1994, having been predeceased by his wife the previous year, and was buried at Taruheru Cemetery.

Honours and awards

Barker was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du couronnement de la Reine Élizabeth II) is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. Award This medal was awarded a ...

in 1953, and the

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'argent de la reine Elizabeth II) is a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The medal is p ...

in 1977. In the

1964 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1964 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1964 to celebrat ...

, Barker was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

. In the 1972 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was promoted to

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

of the same order. Following the end of his time as mayor, Barker was knighted as a

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in the

1978 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1978 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginn ...

, for services to the city of Gisborne. In the 1974 Queen's Birthday Honours, Anita Barker was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services to local government and the community. In the late 1960s a recreational reserve containing several cricket grounds was developed in Gisborne and named the

Harry Barker Reserve Harry Barker Reserve is a cricket and hockey ground in Te Hapara, Gisborne, New Zealand. Establishment The Gisborne City Council purchased the Turanganui Golf Course in 1962, and developed it into a housing estate on the Pacific Coast Highway. Th ...

. It is the headquarters and main home ground of the

Poverty Bay Cricket Association The Poverty Bay cricket team represents the Poverty Bay region of the North Island of New Zealand. It competes in the Hawke Cup. Its base is in Gisborne. History Early years Cricket was established in Gisborne in the 1870s. A Poverty Bay team ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Harry 1898 births 1994 deaths New Zealand National Party politicians Mayors of Gisborne, New Zealand New Zealand Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire People from Nelson, New Zealand Unsuccessful candidates in the 1946 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1943 New Zealand general election People educated at New Plymouth Boys' High School Burials at Taruheru Cemetery 20th-century New Zealand journalists