Sir Barry John Curtis (born 27 February 1939) is a retired New Zealand local-body politician, who served as mayor of Manukau City from 1983 until 2007. When he announced his intention to retire in 2007, he was New Zealand's longest-serving mayor at that time.

Early life and family

Curtis was born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

on 27 February 1939, the son of John Dixon Cory Curtis and Vera Gladys Curtis (née Johnson), and educated at

Otahuhu College Otahuhu College is a secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand for students years 9 to 13. Location It is located in the suburb of Otahuhu and is a co-educational school. The main campus entrance is on Mangere Road, the Memorial Field sports ...

. He undertook further study through the Technical Correspondence Institute, Wellington, and the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, gaining a Diploma of Town Planning, and eventually becoming a town planning consultant and registered surveyor. In 1961, Curtis married Miriam Ann Brook, and the couple went on to have three children.

Career

Curtis was first elected as a

Manukau City Manukau City was a territorial authority district in Auckland, New Zealand, that was governed by the Manukau City Council. The area is sometimes referred to as " South Auckland", although this term never possessed official recognition and does ...

councillor in 1968, three years after Manukau City was formed and was re-elected in 1971, 1974, 1977 and 1980. He was also elected in 1971 to the Auckland Regional Authority, the predecessor of the Auckland Regional Council and was re-elected in 1974, 1977, 1980 and 1983. From 1977 to 1983 he was chairman of the Authority's regional planning committee. In 1974, Curtis challenged

Gavin Downie Gavin Price Ansell Downie (5 December 1924 – 27 January 1998) was a Member of Parliament for Pakuranga in Auckland, New Zealand. Early life and career Gavin Downie was born in Auckland, New Zealand, 5 December 1924, not long after his parent ...

for the National Party nomination for the seat of

Pakuranga Pakuranga is an eastern suburb of Auckland, in northern New Zealand. Pakuranga covers a series of low ridges and previously swampy flats, now drained, that lie between the Pakuranga Creek and Tamaki River, two estuarial arms of the Hauraki Gu ...

after many local party members became dissatisfied with Downie's performance. He was unsuccessful in his challenge, but was persuaded to stand for the seat at the 1975 general election as an independent candidate. Curtis placed a distant fifth out of seven candidates with 356 votes (1.46% of the vote). Downie was re-elected. Curtis was elected Mayor of Manukau City in 1983, and was re-elected in 1986, 1989, 1992, 1995, 1998, 2001 and 2004. He stood down in October 2007 at the triennial elections, after 39 years of continuous service to the people of Manukau and the Auckland Region. He was succeeded by

Len Brown Leonard Charles Brown (born 1 October 1956)) is a former mayor of Auckland, New Zealand, and former head of the Auckland Council. He won the 2010 Auckland mayoral election on 9 October 2010 and was sworn in as Mayor of Auckland on 1 Novembe ...

. In 1990, Curtis was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal, and in the

1992 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1992 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countri ...

, he was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

, for services to local government and the community.

Honorific eponym

Barry Curtis Park in

Flat Bush Flat Bush (also known as Ormiston or Flatbush) is a southeastern suburb in the city of Auckland, New Zealand. It has recently become one of the city's largest new planned towns after being developed as a rural area of Auckland for several deca ...

is named in his honour.

Positions held

*Mayor of Manukau City (1983–2007) *Member of the Auckland Regional Authority (1971–1983) *Chairman of the Auckland Regional Authority Planning Committee (1977–1983) *Chair of the Auckland Mayoral Forum *Patron of South Auckland Hospice, Auckland Hockey Association and many other community organisations in Manukau City *Chairman of the National Taskforce for the Reduction of Community Violence Leaders Group *Member of the Auckland Regional Land Transport Committee (1990–2007) *Deputy Chairman of Auckland Regional Growth Strategy Forum (1996–2007) *Chairman of the Auckland Regional Economic Development Strategy (AREDS) Establishment Group (2002–2006) *Trustee of the TelstraClear Pacific Events Trust Board *Patron of the Pakuranga Tennis Club

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curtis, Barry 1939 births Living people Mayors of Manukau City New Zealand Knights Bachelor Manukau City Councillors Auckland regional councillors People educated at Otahuhu College New Zealand politicians awarded knighthoods University of Auckland alumni New Zealand National Party politicians Unsuccessful candidates in the 1975 New Zealand general election New Zealand justices of the peace