Barry Mitchell Dallas (1 December 1926 – 21 April 1992) was a New Zealand politician and doctor. He was twice

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Greymouth Greymouth () (Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coas ...

on the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

of New Zealand.

Biography

Dallas was born in Masterton and attended

Wairarapa College Wairarapa College is a state coeducational secondary school located in Masterton, New Zealand. The college first opened in 1938, following the merger of Wairarapa High School with the Masterton Technical School. Serving Years 9 to 13, the college ...

. He qualified as a doctor at the Otago School of Medicine (1950; MB, ChB) and at the Auckland School of Medicine (1960, DipObs). He was a house surgeon at New Plymouth, and then at Greymouth where he became both surgeon and a general practitioner. He was on the West Coast Hospital Board from 1970, then the Area Health Board. He was Mayor of Greymouth from 1966 to 1968, and later from 1980 until his unexpected death after a long illness in 1992. Greymouth was regularly flooded by the Grey River. Since the 1860s, the town had been under water almost two dozen times. When the town was flooded twice in 1988, Dallas embarked on an ambitious project to build a flood protection wall. Since its completion, flooding has not occurred again. Dallas 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 ...

, for services to local government and the community, in the 1990 New Year Honours, and was also 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 ...

. Dallas stood as an independent candidate for the

Westland Westland or Westlands may refer to: Places *Westlands, an affluent neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi, Kenya * Westlands, Staffordshire, a suburban area and ward in Newcastle-under-Lyme *Westland, a peninsula of the Shetland Mainland near Vaila ...

electorate in 1969; and in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

and

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

for the replacement

electorate. He finished second behind the incumbent

Paddy Blanchfield Patrick Blanchfield (18 December 1911 – 20 June 1980) was a Labour Party member of the New Zealand Parliament for Westland and the West Coast. Biography Early life and career Blanchfield was born in 1911 in Greymouth where his father, Patr ...

in all three elections; standing as an independent candidate in 1972, and as the

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

candidate in 1975. In 1969 he trailed Blanchfield by only 1879 votes. In 1972 the majority for Blanchfield was 4242, and in 1975 it was 2401.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dallas, Barry 1926 births 1992 deaths Mayors of Grey New Zealand general practitioners New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand National Party politicians Independent politicians in New Zealand People from Masterton Unsuccessful candidates in the 1975 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1972 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1969 New Zealand general election New Zealand medical administrators University of Otago alumni University of Auckland alumni People from Greymouth People educated at Wairarapa College New Zealand justices of the peace