Christopher Wilton Parkin (born 1948) is a New Zealand businessman, art collector and philanthropist.

Early life

Parkin was born in

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

, England in 1948 and emigrated to New Zealand with his family in 1952. He grew up in

Waikanae Waikanae (, ) is a town on the Kāpiti Coast, north of the Wellington, New Zealand. The name is a Māori language, Māori word meaning "waters" (''wai'') "of the flathead grey mullet, grey mullet". The area surrounding the town is notable fo ...

and Ōtaki and attended Otaki College, graduating in 1966. He studied geochemistry and business 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 ...

, graduating with a Master's degree with Honours and a Bachelor of Commerce.

Career

Parkin bought his first property for $12,500 at age 23, while still a student. He sold it for $30,000 a few years later. After graduating from university Parkin found work with a manufacturing business. Two years later he moved to Development Finance Corporation as a financial analyst, and later convinced his employer to open an office in San Francisco. In 1979 Parkin and his second wife moved to California for his work as a business analyst. Parkin spent four years in the US marketing New Zealand's export tax incentives to US businesses. He returned from the US to Wellington in 1983 and invested in more property – blocks of apartments which he renovated and sold. Parkin took over management of the Museum Hotel in October 1990 and bought the building from the Government in 1992. In 1993 he moved the hotel on rails to a new location in Cable Street. Parkin sold the hotel in 2015.

Politics

Parkin had left-wing views when he started university, but after studying economics his views moved further right and he ended up as branch chairman for the

ACT party ACT New Zealand (; ), also known as the ACT Party or simply ACT, is a right-wing, classical liberal, right-libertarian, and conservative political party in New Zealand. It is currently led by David Seymour, and is in coalition with the Nationa ...

in 1994. Parkin stated in 2020 that he was a socialist until he understood more about human nature. "You realise the futility of any political system that depends totally for its success on the goodwill of people towards others. It's human nature that stops socialism from ever succeeding. It doesn't have a chance." Parkin was a Wellington city councillor for the Lambton Ward from 1995 to 2004, when he chose to stand down.

Philanthropy

Parkin has been a board member of The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and served in several charitable and public organisations including the St James Theatre Trust, Wellington Venues Ltd, the New Zealand Affordable Arts Trust and the Hannah Playhouse Trust. In 2001 Parkin helped set up a scholarship to

Toi Whakaari Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School is New Zealand's national drama school. It was established in 1970 and is located in Wellington, New Zealand, in the Te Whaea: National Dance & Drama Centre. Toi Whakaari offers training in acting, costume constru ...

New Zealand Drama School. This was awarded annually until 2014, and covered a year's tuition fees plus a monthly allowance. In 2005 Parkin gave $100,000 to the Wellington Sculpture Trust for a sculpture to be placed outside his Museum Hotel. The sculpture,
Per Capita
'' was installed in December 2006. In 2012 Parkin founded th
Parkin Drawing Prize
in association with the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts. This national art competition is open to New Zealand citizens and permanent residents. The winner of the Parkin Drawing Prize receives $25,000, increased from $20,000 when the Prize was first awarded in 2013. In 2019 Parkin gave $120,000 to Boosted, a crowdfunding platform for artists, to build a better site. Also in 2019, Parkin donated $1 million towards a planned national music centre in Wellington's Civic Square. The donation included $250,000 for an artwork to be commissioned for the space.

Honours and awards

Parkin was named 'Wellingtonian of the Year' in 1993 for his efforts to shift the Museum Hotel to a new location. In 1995 Parkin was given an Award for Distinguished Service by Victoria University, for "outstanding contribution to the advancement of Victoria University of Wellington". In the 2011 Queen's Birthday honours list, Parkin was made a

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

for services to business and the arts.

Personal life

Parkin has been married three times and has two children with his second wife.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parkin, Chris Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand businesspeople New Zealand art collectors 1948 births New Zealand philanthropists People from Doncaster People from Waikanae Victoria University of Wellington alumni Wellington City Councillors ACT New Zealand politicians People associated with the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Living people