Sir Harry Heaton Barker (18 July 1898 – 18 May 1994) was a New Zealand newspaper journalist and editor, local politician, and founder of the

Four Square Four square (also called handball, champ, four squares or box ball) is a global sport played on a square court divided by two perpendicular lines into four identical boxes creating four squares labelled 1–4 or A–D. Four square is a popula ...

supermarket chain. He was

mayor of Gisborne The mayor of Gisborne is the elected head of local government in the Gisborne District of New Zealand's North Island; one of 67 Mayors in New Zealand, mayors in the country. The mayor is based in the principle city (and namesake) of the district, ...

for 27 years.

Early life and family

Barker was born in

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, New Zealand on 18 July 1898. His father, John Heaton Barker, was the founder of the

supermarket chain. The family 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 ...

in 1902 and

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

in 1912. Barker spent his final school year at

New Plymouth Boys' High School New Plymouth Boys' High School is a single-sex boys' state secondary school in New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand. The school currently caters for approximately 1300 students, including 210 boarders, on its site. The school often collaborat ...

as a boarder. Barker enlisted for military service during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, initially falsifying his age until he was found out. He fell ill in the

1918 influenza pandemic The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the Influenza A virus subtype H1N1, H1N1 subtype of the influenz ...

. He came to Gisborne in 1920 to work as a reporter for '' The Gisborne Times'' (which, after a couple of mergers, became ''The Gisborne Herald'' in 1939). He moved to

in 1923 on his father's request, but soon returned to Gisborne, this time for the rest of his life. In Gisborne on 18 February 1926, Barker married Anita Pearl Greaves; there were no children from the marriage.

Political career

He stood in the and s in the electorate for the

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

, but could not unseat the incumbent,

David Coleman David Robert Coleman (26 April 1926 – 21 December 2013) was a British sports commentator and television presenter who worked for the BBC for 46 years. He covered eleven Summer Olympic Games from 1960 to 2000 and six FIFA World Cups from 196 ...

. From 1950, he was mayor of Gisborne for nine consecutive three-year terms. He died on 18 May 1994, having been predeceased by his wife the previous year, and was buried at Taruheru Cemetery.

Honours and awards

Barker was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal () is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. Award This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir from the Queen to members of the Royal Family ...

in 1953, and the

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal () is a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The medal is physically identical in all realms where it was awarded, save for Canada ...

in 1977. In the

1964 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1964 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1964 to celebra ...

, Barker was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. In the 1972 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was promoted to

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

of the same order. Following the end of his time as mayor, Barker was knighted as a

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the

1978 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1978 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, to celebrate the year passed and mark the begin ...

, for services to the city of Gisborne. In the 1974 Queen's Birthday Honours, Anita Barker was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, for services to local government and the community. In the late 1960s a recreational reserve containing several cricket grounds was developed in Gisborne and named the

Harry Barker Reserve Harry Barker Reserve is a cricket and hockey ground in Te Hapara, Gisborne, New Zealand. Establishment The Gisborne City Council purchased the Turanganui Golf Course in 1962, and developed it into a housing estate on the Pacific Coast Highway. ...

. It is the headquarters and main home ground of the Poverty Bay Cricket Association.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Harry 1898 births 1994 deaths New Zealand National Party politicians Mayors of Gisborne, New Zealand New Zealand Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire People from Nelson, New Zealand Unsuccessful candidates in the 1946 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1943 New Zealand general election People educated at New Plymouth Boys' High School Burials at Taruheru Cemetery 20th-century New Zealand journalists Military personnel from Nelson, New Zealand New Zealand military personnel of World War I New Zealand Army soldiers