Amanda Morrison (born 1972) better known as Mandy Mayhem and at times Mandy Mayhem-Bullock,Mayhem announced in 2022 that she was "dropping the Bullock." is a local politician, celebrant, performer, circus ringmaster, newspaper deliverer, and artist based in Waitati and

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

, in New Zealand.

Early life and family

Mayhem was born in November 1972 and raised in

. Mayhem was 5 years old when her mother moved her family to a 10-hectare property on a hill above a small township. By that time, the cluster of

holiday homes A holiday cottage, holiday home, vacation home, or vacation property is accommodation used for holiday vacations, corporate travel, and temporary housing often for less than 30 days. Such properties are typically small homes, such as cottage ...

had become affordable. She was a participant in the

Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study (also known as the Dunedin Study) is a detailed study of human health, development and behaviour. Based at the University of Otago in New Zealand, the Dunedin Study has followed the live ...

; its only subjectto become a ringmaster.

School

Mayhem was educated at Waitati School and

Otago Girls' High School Otago Girls' High School (OGHS) is a secondary school in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. It was opened 6 February 1871, after a long campaign by Learmonth Whyte Dalrymple. It is one of the oldest girls state-run secondary school in the Southern Hem ...

. She unofficially went to Logan Park High School, by pretending to be a foreign exchange student at the school. Mayhem moved to

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

to complete a degree in women's studies at

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

, while working as "Slaphappy the clown".Blundell, Sall
"Organised Mayhem: the pirate queen in public office"
Stuff, 21 August 2023 retrieved 2025-05-08

Family

Mandy married Lee Bullock in 2016, and has three children, Rose, Max, and Vita. Mayhem earlier donated

egg cell The egg cell or ovum (: ova) is the female Reproduction, reproductive cell, or gamete, in most anisogamous organisms (organisms that reproduce sexually with a larger, female gamete and a smaller, male one). The term is used when the female game ...

s, contributing to a friend's births of two other children. The Mayhem-Bullock family lost a pet horse following a violent criminal attack on the animal in 2019.

Community involvement

Mayhem runs a monthly community market in Waitati. She is the commander of the pacifist combat arm of the Waitati militia, a satirical "pacifist warfare" group formed over 50 years ago in protest against the Vietnam war. Mayhem is involved with the Coastal Communities Cycleway Connection, is chair of Keep Dunedin Beautiful and a local emergency response co-ordinator.

Performance career

Mayhem worked in Wellington as a

clown A clown is a person who performs physical comedy and arts in an Improvisational theatre#Comedy, open-ended fashion, typically while wearing distinct cosmetics, makeup or costume, costuming and reversing social norm, folkway-norms. The art of ...

, then worked for five years with Ridgway Circus, where "Mayhem" was her stage name. She has a third-dan black belt in

taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

, and considered representing New Zealand in what was then a demonstration sport at the

1992 Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

. More recently, Mayhem wrote, directed and performed in a circus rock opera, ''The Carnival Ain't Over,'' for the 2021 Dunedin Fringe Festival, and has been organising the annual Wuthering Heights dance-along in the Octagon since 2019.

Political career

Mayhem spent six years as a member of the

Dunedin City Council The Dunedin City Council () is the Local government in New Zealand, local government authority for Dunedin in New Zealand. It is a Territorial authorities of New Zealand, territorial authority elected to represent the people of Dunedin. Since O ...

's Waikouaiti-Coast Community Board and was elected to the council in October 2022. she is deputy chair of the city council's community services committee. She is the unofficial mayor of Waitati, a small coastal settlement within Dunedin city. Mayhem announced in May 2025 that she would contest the mayoralty in the

2025 Dunedin City Council election The 2025 Dunedin City Council election will take place between 9 September and 11 October 2025 by Postal voting, postal vote as part of 2025 New Zealand local elections, nation-wide local elections. The single transferable vote system will be ...

Political views

Mayhem's 2022 election campaign cited accessibility,

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

and wellbeing as political priorities."Nandy Mayhem-Bullock"
on policy.nz website, 2022, retrieved 2025-06-08 In a 2023 interview, Mayhem said “I know what it is to be a solo mother. I know what it is to be forced to take budgeting advice at the foodbank," claiming that "older, white men – business people" on the council lack the same lived experience as her.

References

Notes

External links

Cr Mandy Mayhem
official profile on Dunedin City Council website Living people 1972 births Dunedin City Councillors Entertainers from Dunedin People educated at Otago Girls' High School {{NewZealand-politician-stub