Claire Lois Stewart (17 June 1941 – 29 March 2020) was a New Zealand politician who served as

mayor of New Plymouth The Mayor of New Plymouth is the head of municipal government of New Plymouth District, New Zealand. Since the 2022 local elections, the mayor is elected directly using the single transferable vote electoral system; prior to that, first-past-the-p ...

from 1992 until 2001. She was the first woman to hold this position.

Biography

Stewart was born on 17 June 1941. In 1961 she married JJ Stewart, a high school teacher and rugby coach eighteen years her senior and a drinking mate of her father. By the time she was 28, they had five children together. Stewart was elected to the

New Plymouth District Council New Plymouth District Council ( mi, Te Kaunihera ā-Rohe o Ngāmotu) is the territorial authority for the New Plymouth District of New Zealand. The council consists of the mayor of New Plymouth, , and 14 ward councillors. Composition Councillo ...

in 1989. She also served on the Taranaki Regional Council and the

Taranaki District Health Board The Taranaki District Health Board (Taranaki DHB or TDHB) was a district health board which provided healthcare to the Taranaki region of New Zealand. In July 2022, the Taranaki DHB was merged into the national health service Te Whatu Ora (Healt ...

. In 1992, she was elected mayor. During her time in office she extended the

New Plymouth Coastal Walkway The Coastal Walkway is a long walkway located along the coast of New Plymouth, New Zealand. The walkway stretches from near Port Taranaki, past the central city, through Hickford Park, past Bell Block Beach and to Tiromoana Crescent in Bell Bl ...

, built a domestic violence shelter, and began the process of building

Puke Ariki Puke Ariki is a combined museum and library at New Plymouth, New Zealand which opened in June 2003. It is an amalgamation of the New Plymouth Public Library (founded in 1848) and the Taranaki Museum (founded in 1919). Its name, Māori for "hill ...

. In 2000, she was considered a frontrunner to be elected president of

Local Government New Zealand Local Government New Zealand Te Kahui Kaunihera ō Aotearoa (LGNZ) is the local government association of New Zealand. It represents the interests of the regional, city, and district councils in New Zealand. History The Association was form ...

, but the position was ultimately filled by Basil Morrison, the mayor of Hauraki. She retired in 2001 to look after her husband who was ill. He died the next year. In the

2002 New Year Honours New Years' Honours are announced on or around the date of the New Year in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supplements to the London Ga ...

, Stewart 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. In 2010, she moved to the

Shire of Noosa The Shire of Noosa is a local government area about north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast district of South East Queensland, Australia. The shire covers an area of . It existed as a local government entity from 1910 until 2008, when it wa ...

in Australia to be closer to family. Stewart died at her nursing home in

Tewantin Tewantin ( ) is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Noosa, Queensland, Australia. In the , Tewantin had a population of 10,920 people. Tewantin was the original settlement in the Noosa region and is one of its three major centres today. Hi ...

on 29 March 2020 after a long illness, one day after her daughter-in-law, also named Clare Stewart, was elected mayor of Noosa. After two years of delay due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, a memorial service in New Plymouth is planned for 17 June 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Claire 1941 births 2020 deaths Mayors of New Plymouth Women mayors of places in New Zealand Taranaki regional councillors Taranaki District Health Board members Companions of the Queen's Service Order New Zealand justices of the peace