Mervyn Langlois Wellington (6 October 1940 – 7 September 2003) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party.

Early life and family

Wellington was born in Inglewood in 1940, and received his education 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 collabora ...

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 ...

. He married Elizabeth Helen Bean in 1961 and the couple had three daughters. After a period as a social welfare worker between 1959 and 1961, Wellington became a school teacher and taught at St Stephen's School,

Pukekohe High School Pukekohe High School is a high school in Pukekohe in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. House system There are five Houses at Pukekohe High School, which are: Day House named after Dr. Paul Day who became an Honorary Doctor at the University ...

and

Ruapehu College Ohakune is a small town at the southern end of Tongariro National Park, close to the southwestern slopes of the active volcano Mount Ruapehu, in the North Island of New Zealand. A rural service town known as New Zealand's Carrot Capital, Ohak ...

. He was also a Methodist lay preacher and served as a

Pukekohe Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, it is in South Auckland, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. Th ...

borough councillor.

Member of Parliament

He represented the

Manurewa Manurewa is a major suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand. It was part of Manukau City before the creation of the Auckland super city in 2010. It is located south of the Manukau, Manukau City Centre, and southeast of Auckland CBD. The subur ...

electorate from 1975 to 1978, and then the

Papakura Papakura is a southern suburb of Auckland, in northern New Zealand. It is located on the shores of the Pahurehure Inlet, approximately 32 kilometres south of the Auckland CBD. It is under the authority of the Auckland Council. Papakura is a M� ...

electorate from 1978 to 1990, when he retired. Wellington served as a Cabinet minister, being the Minister of Education from 13 December 1978 to 26 July 1984. During his tenure as Education Minister, he regularly courted controversy with teacher unions on various issues. Wellington was a Muldoon loyalist, and was demoted after National's

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

election defeat.

Honours and awards

In 1977, Wellington was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal, and in 1990 he received the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people. Background The New Zea ...

. In the 1993 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...

for public services.

Death

Wellington died in 2003, following a long illness.

References

*
Hansard
1940 births 2003 deaths New Zealand National Party MPs Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand New Zealand education ministers Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates University of Auckland alumni People educated at New Plymouth Boys' High School Companions of the Queen's Service Order People from Inglewood, New Zealand 20th-century New Zealand politicians {{NZNational-politician-stub