Far North District Council flags at half mast to mark death of long-time councillor Laurie Byers

Sport was a passion for former Olympic and Commonwealth Games cyclist Laurie Byers who was always keen to get kids involved in sport. Byers, a long-time district councillor has died and flags will be at half mast in the Far North to mark his passing.

The flag will be flown at half mast on Far North District Council buildings to mark the death of long-time councillor Laurie Byers.

Tributes are being paid to former FNDC stalwart Byers, who has passed away aged 83.

Born in Whangārei on March 31, 1941, he served as a councillor, deputy mayor, and community board member.

Far North Mayor Kahika Moko Tepania described Byers as a community champion who made his community proud with his achievements over the years.

“On behalf of the Far North District Council, we offer our condolences to the whānau of our departed colleague Laurie Byers,” Tepania said.

“He was a community champion through and through in words and in actions, and I was fortunate to sit alongside him on the Kaikohe-Hokianga Community Board in the previous term. E hoa, e te rangatira, moe mai rā.”

Byers was first elected as a councillor in 1991 until 2012, serving as the deputy mayor from 2006 to 2009. He served on what used to be called the Western Community Board, now the Kaikohe-Hokianga Community Board, as the appointed councillor from 2001 to 2006. He returned to public life as an elected member on the same community board from 2019 to 2022.

Tributes are flowing for former FNDC stalwart and Olympic and Commonwealth Games cyclist Laurie Byers.

As a councillor, he was an active advocate for sport and young people and a proud champion of the District Plan.

Byers reportedly hated red tape to the point that he and another elected member planted trees themselves along Kaikohe’s main street.

But it wasn’t just in local government where he made an impact. The Kaikohe farmer was an Olympic racing cyclist who also won bronze medals at the 1962 and 1966 Commonwealth Games.

Over the years, he has also been involved with a number of community groups, including the Kaikohukohu Trust, the North Point Trust and was patron of Bay of Islands Hockey.

In 2011, he was awarded the Queen’s Service Medal for services to his community. Earlier this month, the Lions Club of Kaikohe, for which he served for more than 30 years, presented him with the Lloyd Morgan Charitable Trust - Honoured Membership Award.

The council’s flag will be flown at half-mast on the day of his funeral, Thursday, July 25.