Historic day in GDC chambers

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Opinion

Meng Liu Foon’s 18 years as Gisborne’s mayor and 24 years on Gisborne District Council finishes early this afternoon at the end of his last council meeting in charge.

Following her appointment to the role by fellow councillors two weeks ago, his deputy for the past six years Rehette Stoltz will take the mayoral declaration and Mr Foon will hand over the mayoral robes and chains. On Monday next week he takes up his new job as Race Relations Commissioner — a role he is well-placed to perform admirably and continue to represent Tairawhiti well on the national stage.

Mrs Stoltz today becomes our third GDC mayor, and the first ever woman mayor across all councils of the district — for the next seven-and-a-half weeks, through until election day on October 12. Voters will then decide among three candidates for the role — Mrs Stoltz, Meredith Akuhata-Brown and Ross Meurant — who will be mayor for the next three-year term.

Mr Foon’s six terms as mayor make him the second longest-serving Gisborne mayor after the nine consecutive terms of Sir Harry Barker (1950-1977) for Gisborne Borough then City Council.

John Clarke (1989-2001) was the first GDC mayor and served four terms; prior to that he was chairman of Waikohu County.

Gisborne District Council was formed on November 1, 1989 when Waiapu, Cook, Waikohu and Gisborne City councils, Gisborne Harbour Board and East Cape Catchment Board amalgamated into one council — New Zealand’s first unitary authority combining district and regional council functions.

That marked the end of Cook County after 113 years of local government, Waiapu after 99 years and Waikohu after 81 years.

Meng Foon’s long tenure as mayor will be remembered for many things but perhaps most importantly the way he and wife Ying have been so dedicated to the role.

Incredibly, in 2019, Aotearoa New Zealand will no longer have a mayor who is fluent in te reo Maori tomorrow. Hopefully that will be remedied by local body voters around the country in October.

A farewell to Mr Foon is being held later this afternoon at Te Poho o Rawiri Marae — where he was first sworn-in as mayor in 2001.