Philip Ralph Burdon (born 25 March 1939) is a former New Zealand politician and lawyer by profession. He was the co-founder of Meadow Mushrooms.

Early life and family

Burdon was born in Geraldine on 25 March 1939, the son of Cotsford Carlton Burdon and Ruth Mildred Burdon (née Barker). He was educated at Christ's College in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

from 1953 to 1956, and studied law at the University of Canterbury, graduating

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

. On 8 December 1966 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, Burdon married Rosalind Alice Waley-Cohen, the daughter of the late Sir

Bernard Waley-Cohen Sir Bernard Nathaniel Waley-Cohen, 1st Baronet (29 May 1914 – 3 July 1991) was a British businessman. He was the 633rd Lord Mayor of London, elected in 1960. Biography The son of Sir Robert Waley Cohen and Alice (''née'' Beddington), Waley-C ...

, former

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

, and the couple went on to have three children. In the 2002 Queen's Birthday and Golden Jubilee Honours, Rosalind Burdon was appointed a

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services to the arts and the community. Philip Burdon worked as a legal advisor for Mobil Oil in

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 1967. In 1969, he and Roger Giles began a company growing mushrooms in caves on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, but following the

Turkish invasion of Cyprus The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of Cypriot intercommunal violence, intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots, Greek and Turkish ...

in 1974, they concentrated all their efforts on their New Zealand company, Meadow Mushrooms, established at

Prebbleton Prebbleton is a small town in the Selwyn District in the Canterbury Region of New Zealand. It is 11 km southwest of the centre of Christchurch and about 2 km south of the outlying industrial suburb of Hornby. Prebbleton dates back to ...

in 1970. From 1977 to 1978, Burdon was a visiting lecturer in law at Lincoln College.

Member of Parliament

Burdon was an MP from 1981 to 1996, representing the National Party. He was first elected to Parliament in the 1981 elections as MP for the

electorate of

Fendalton Fendalton is a suburb of Christchurch, in the South Island of New Zealand. History Fendalton was originally known as Fendall Town, named after the original settler of the land, Walpole Chesshyre Fendall (1830–1913). Fendall emigrated from Y ...

, and was re-elected for that electorate until leaving Parliament at the 1996 elections. While in Opposition, Burdon was the National Party spokesman for health from 1985 to 1986, and trade and industry between 1986 and 1990. Burdon was the New Zealand

Minister of State Owned Enterprises The Minister of State Owned Enterprises is the government minister in New Zealand responsible for trading enterprises owned by the New Zealand Government (see State-owned enterprises of New Zealand), usually in conjunction with the minister r ...

from 1993 to 1996. Other ministerial positions that he held were Minister for Trade Negotiations,

Minister of Commerce A Commerce minister (sometimes business minister, industry minister, trade minister or international trade minister) is a position in many governments that is responsible for regulating external trade and promoting economic growth (commercial polic ...

, Minister for Industry, and Associate Minister of External Relations and Trade. In 1990, Burdon was awarded 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 ...

Post-political career

, Philip Burdon is chairman of the Asia New Zealand Foundation and patron of the New Zealand China Friendship Society. Burdon and fellow former MP

Jim Anderton James Patrick Anderton (born Byrne; 21 January 1938 – 7 January 2018) was a New Zealand politician who led a succession of left-wing parties after leaving the Labour Party in 1989. Anderton's political career began when he was elected to th ...

were prominent campaigners for the restoration of

ChristChurch Cathedral ChristChurch Cathedral, also called Christ Church Cathedral and (rarely) Cathedral Church of Christ, is a deconsecrated Anglican cathedral in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It was built between 1864 and 1904 in the centre of the city ...

, which had been severely damaged in the

February February is the second month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The month has 28 days in common years or 29 in leap years, with the 29th day being called the ''leap day''. It is the first of five months not to have 31 days (th ...

and

June 2011 Christchurch earthquake The June 2011 Christchurch earthquake was a shallow magnitude 6.0 earthquake that occurred on 13 June 2011 at 14:20 NZST (02:20 UTC). It was centred at a Hypocenter, depth of , about 5 km (3 mi) south-east of Christchurch, which had p ...

s. They were ultimately successful in September 2017 when the Anglican synod made a binding decision to restore the church. In 2016, Burdon was inducted into the

New Zealand Business Hall of Fame The New Zealand Business Hall of Fame is a figurative hall of fame dedicated to New Zealanders who have made a significant contribution to the economic and social development of New Zealand. The hall was established in 1994 by the Young Enterpri ...

Early life and family

Member of Parliament

Post-political career

References

Further reading