Stanley Ivan Russell (26 March 1906 – 29 November 2005) was a New Zealand local-body politician. He served as Mayor of Nelson from 1956 to 1962.

Early life and family

Russell was born in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, the son of George Philip Russell. His family moved to the

King Country The King Country ( Māori: ''Te Rohe Pōtae'' or ''Rohe Pōtae o Maniapoto'') is a region of the western North Island of New Zealand. It extends approximately from Kawhia Harbour and the town of Ōtorohanga in the north to the upper reaches of th ...

, then

Motueka Motueka is a town in the South Island of New Zealand, close to the mouth of the Motueka River on the western shore of Tasman Bay. It is the second largest in the Tasman Region, with a population of as of The surrounding district has a numb ...

and

Tākaka Tākaka is a small town situated at the southeastern end of Golden Bay / Mohua, Golden Bay, at the northern end of New Zealand's South Island, located on the lower reaches of the Tākaka River. State Highway 60 (New Zealand), State Highway 60 r ...

before settling 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 ...

in 1919. He was educated at

Nelson College Nelson College is the oldest state secondary school in New Zealand, a feat achieved in part thanks to its original inception as a private school. It is an all-boys school in the City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it r ...

from 1920 to 1923. In 1929, his father founded G P Russell and Sons (now Russells Curtains and Blinds) as a new and used furniture business located at 176 Bridge Street, Nelson. Russell worked in the family business, eventually becoming its managing director.

Political career

His father was on the City Council until 1944. Russell was elected to Council that same year. He remained on the City Council until 1965 and was the mayor of Nelson from 1956 to 1962. While there he campaigned for pensioner flats, resulting in the "Russell Flats" in Waimea Road being constructed. He was also involved in establishing the Nelson Civic Trust in early 1973. Russell supported his fellow Council member,

Sonja Davies Sonja Margaret Loveday Davies (née Vile; 11 November 1923 – 12 June 2005) was a New Zealand trade unionist, peace campaigner, and Member of Parliament. On 6 February 1987, Davies was the third appointee to the Order of New Zealand."The ...

, in seeking to have the Nelson Institute library transferred to the

Nelson City Council Nelson City Council is the unitary local authority for Nelson in New Zealand. History Local governance of Nelson began with Nelson Province in 1853, which covered the entire upper South Island. The town of Nelson was managed by the Nelson ...

. The Institute finally agreed in 1964. A fee was charged for taking out books until 1972, when it became free. He was chair of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

and was a Labour Party supporter. In the 1961 New Year Honours, Russell 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 government. Russell died at Nelson, aged 99, on 29 November 2005, and his ashes were buried at Wakapuaka Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Stanley Ivan 1906 births 2005 deaths People educated at Nelson College Mayors of Nelson, New Zealand New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire Politicians from Christchurch 20th-century New Zealand politicians Burials at Wakapuaka Cemetery YMCA leaders