OBITUARY: District still benefiting from George Tyler's work

Former Whanganui town clerk George Tyler with Wanganui City Council staff from left, Mollie Bloor, Lynne Booth, Yvonne Hancock and Maria Cording on his last day in 1985.

George Tyler, the "silver-tongued" town clerk who shaped much of Whanganui in the 1970s and 1980s, has died.

Mr Tyler first became town clerk in an acting role in 1974 before taking over permanently in 1975.

He stayed in the job until 1985 and in that decade oversaw council projects such as the Davis Library, the Jubilee and Springvale stadium redevelopment and was responsible for planting the council's forestry.

Mr Tyler was 80 when he died on May 27 in Auckland.

Last week's Whanganui District Council meeting observed a minute's silence in his honour.

Whanganui mayor Hamish McDouall said the district was still benefiting from Mr Tyler's work more than 30 years later.

"You look at the things that occurred in the late 1970s and 1980s that shaped the city," Mr McDouall said.

"The Davis Library, the forestry, which is an asset we'll be reaping the rewards from soon; those are George Tyler's legacies."

Mr McDouall said Mr Tyler had an ability to get on well with staff and the community.

"He was an extremely silver-tongued gentlemen."

Having also served as deputy city treasurer and city treasurer he was one of the long-time council staff members "who knew the organisation from top to bottom".

Newspaper reports around the time of his retirement described Mr Tyler as a "perky gent".

Mayor at the time, Doug Turney, said he was the "quintessential town clerk" who improved the council's image and gave the community a better understanding about how the council operated.

Another former Whanganui mayor, the late Chas Poynter, said Mr Tyler was "the one member of staff I've been able to see eye-to-eye with".

Mr Tyler himself estimated that in his 10 years as town clerk he attended 3300 meetings lasting 8250 hours.

"I can assure you, it seemed longer," he told media.