Maurice Rhodes Carter (1 July 1917 – 9 May 2011) was a New Zealand property developer, philanthropist and local politician.

Biography

Carter was born on 1 July 1917 in

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

, Yorkshire, England. He spent much of his youth in

Kettlewell Kettlewell is a village in Upper Wharfedale, North Yorkshire, England. It lies north of Grassington, at the point where Wharfedale is joined by a minor road (Cam Gill Road) which leads north-east from the village over Park Rash Pass to Cov ...

, and Kettlewell Lane in the

Christchurch Central City Christchurch Central City or Christchurch City Centre is the geographical centre and the heart of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is defined as the area within the Four Avenues (Bealey Avenue, Fitzgerald Avenue, Moorhouse Avenue and Deans Aven ...

is named after him. He was apprenticed as a carpenter and in 1936, he went with friends on an

overseas experience Overseas Experience (OE) is a New Zealand term for an extended overseas working period or holiday. It is sometimes referred to as "The big OE", in reference to the extended duration of the travel: typically at least one year, and often extended far ...

to Argentina where they worked on a plantation. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1938. Although he enlisted for service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he did not go overseas as the army got him to work on army facilities in Burnham and Weedons. In 1946, he founded his construction company that he named The Carter Group. The company built many of the houses in the Christchurch suburbs of

Bryndwr Bryndwr ( ; ) is a suburb in the north-west of Christchurch, New Zealand. Development Bryndwr, meaning 'hillside by water' (from ''Bryn'' "hillside" + ''dŵr'' "water"), and probably named for the slopes beside the Wairarapa and Waimairi stre ...

and Burnside and at the peak, the company built 100 houses per year. Known for their quality, houses are still advertised as "Maurice Carter homes" years after his death. Carter was a local politician. An elected member of

Christchurch City Council The Christchurch City Council (CCC) is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Christchurch is Phil Ma ...

for 33 years (1956–1989), he was

deputy mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor and assistant mayor) is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many local governments. Duties and functions Many elected deputy mayors are members of the loca ...

under Hamish Hay from 1983 to 1989. In addition, he held membership of the Christchurch Drainage Board (27 years, with 9 as chairman), the Regional Planning Authority and then the Canterbury United Council (both predecessors to the

Canterbury Regional Council Environment Canterbury, frequently abbreviated to ECan, is the promotional name for the Canterbury Regional Council. It is the Regions of New Zealand, regional council for Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury, the largest region in the South Is ...

), and was then a member of the Canterbury Regional Council for six years (1989–1995). Carter and his wife set up the Maurice Carter Charitable Trust in 1969; their shops in Bryndwr were vested into this trust. The trust provides grants to a variety of causes.

Family and death

Carter met his wife-to-be—Merle Cunningham—at Burnham Military Camp, where she gave a concert to the troops. On 28 August 1942, Carter and Cunningham were married at

Sumner Sumner may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Sumner, a mountain in the Rare Range, Antarctica * Sumner Glacier, southern Graham Land, Antarctica Australia * Sumner, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane New Zealand * Sumner, New Zealand, a seasi ...

. They were to have five children. Carter's son

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

is a

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 ...

politician who has been a member of Parliament since 1994. He was the

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

from 2013 to 2017. Carter's son

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...

and grandson Tim have taken over the Carter Group from him and both have served on Christchurch City Council. Carter's grandson

Matt Doocey Matthew Maurice Doocey (born 1972) is a New Zealand politician who was elected to the New Zealand Parliament at the 2014 general election as a representative of the New Zealand National Party. He was re-elected in 2017 with a majority increase ...

has been a member of Parliament, also for the National Party, since 2014. Merle Carter died in 2008. Maurice Carter died at Princess Margaret Hospital in Christchurch on 9 May 2011. He is buried at Bromley Cemetery.

Honours and awards

In the 1976 Queen's Birthday Honours, Carter 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 ...

, for services to local-body and community affairs. In the 1992 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was promoted to

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 ...

, again for services to local-body and community affairs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Maurice 1917 births 2011 deaths Real estate and property developers New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Deputy mayors of Christchurch Christchurch City Councillors Canterbury regional councillors Burials at Bromley Cemetery Politicians from Bradford British emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand businesspeople New Zealand military personnel of World War II