Rex Stratton Kirton (3 June 1942 – 4 June 2024) was a New Zealand local-body politician in the

Wellington Region Greater Wellington, also known as the Wellington Region (Māori language, Māori: ''Te Upoko o te Ika''), is the southernmost regions of New Zealand, region of the North Island of New Zealand. The local government region covers an area of , and ...

. He was

mayor of Upper Hutt The mayor of Upper Hutt is the head of the municipal government of Upper Hutt, New Zealand, and presides over the Upper Hutt City Council. The mayor is directly elected using a first-past-the-post voting system. The Upper Hutt Town Board had seve ...

for 24 years until 2001, and then served three terms on the

Greater Wellington Regional Council Wellington Regional Council, branded as Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC), is the regional council overseeing the Wellington Region of New Zealand's lower North Island. It is responsible for Public transport in the Wellington Region, p ...

Biography

Kirton was born on 3 June 1942. He was educated at St Joseph's School, Upper Hutt, and

St Patrick's College, Silverstream St Patrick's College is a state-integrated Catholic boys' day and boarding secondary school located in Silverstream, Upper Hutt, New Zealand. It was established in 1931 when the original St Patrick's College, Wellington that had been establi ...

from 1955 to 1959, where he was captain of the 1st XV rugby team and tennis champion. He later studied 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 ...

and the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

, and worked in England as an accountant. His father, Bill, had worked in banking, then moved to Upper Hutt where he ran a general store in the 1940s, later buying farmland in

Whitemans Valley Whitemans Valley is a rural suburb of Upper Hutt located in the lower North Island of New Zealand. Situated roughly 4 kilometers south of the Upper Hutt Upper Hutt () is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand and one of the four ci ...

where Rex, while mayor, lived and farmed. Kirton served as vice-president of Wellington Cricket and president of the

Wellington Rugby Union The Wellington Rugby Football Union (known as the Wellington Lions for competition reasons) are a New Zealand governing body of rugby union in the New Zealand province of Wellington Region. The main stadium is Sky Stadium (formerly named Wes ...

. Kirton died in Upper Hutt on 4 June 2024.

Local government

Kirton was first elected mayor of

Upper Hutt Upper Hutt () is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand and one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area. History Upper Hutt is in an area originally known as Orongo ...

in 1977. When he retired from this role in 2001, he was the longest-serving mayor in New Zealand at that time. In 2001, Kirton stood as the Upper Hutt representative on the Wellington Regional Council. He served three terms until 2010 when he was beaten by Paul Swain. In 2007, he had been returned unopposed. He was chairman of the regional council's parks, forests and utilities committee. In 1990, Kirton received the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to 3,632 people. Background The New Zealand 1990 Com ...

. In the

1997 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1997 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

, he was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The King's Service Order () established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant of Queen regnant, Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to t ...

, for public services. Kirton Drive, the main street in the suburb of

Riverstone Terraces Riverstone Terraces (commonly referred to as simply 'Riverstone') is a suburb of Upper Hutt in the Hutt Valley of New Zealand's North Island, perched on a hill previously known as Craig's Flat, above the Hutt River. Although mostly residential ...

, is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirton, Rex 1942 births 2024 deaths Upper Hutt City Councillors Mayors of places in the Wellington Region People from Upper Hutt Companions of the Queen's Service Order People educated at St Patrick's College, Silverstream Wellington regional councillors Rex