Richard Walls

Richard Walls QSO JP
Walls c. 1980
52nd Mayor of Dunedin
In office 14 October 1989 – 14 October 1995
Preceded by	Cliff Skeggs
Succeeded by	Sukhi Turner
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Dunedin North
In office 29 November 1975 – 25 November 1978
Preceded by	Ethel McMillan
Succeeded by	Stan Rodger
Personal details
Born	Richard Francis Walls (1937-10-09)9 October 1937 Dunedin, New Zealand
Died	30 October 2011(2011-10-30) (aged 74) Dunedin, New Zealand
Political party	National
Spouse	June Walls
Children	3

Richard Francis Walls QSO JP (9 October 1937 – 30 October 2011) was a New Zealand politician and businessman.

Member of Parliament

New Zealand Parliament

Years	Term	Electorate		Party
1975–78	38th	Dunedin North			National

Walls was a Member of Parliament for Dunedin North from 1975 to 1978.[1] A member of the National Party, he won the normally safe Labour seat as part of Robert Muldoon's landslide victory of 1975. He was the first National MP to represent a significant portion of Dunedin, a long-standing Labour stronghold, in 21 years. Walls was defeated after only one term by Labour's Stan Rodger; to date, he is the last National MP to represent Dunedin.

Following his defeat, Walls attempted to re-enter parliament by seeking the National nomination for the Auckland seat of East Coast Bays in a 1980 by-election. He made the initial five person shortlist, but after being hospitalised suddenly, he was too ill to travel to Auckland for the selection meeting.[2][3]

Local-body politics

Walls was first elected onto Dunedin City Council in 1980.[4] Prior to that he served on the St. Kilda Borough Council (1962–1965) and on the Otago Harbour Board (1965–1974; Chairman 1971–1973). He was Mayor of Dunedin for two terms from 1989 to 1995, when he was defeated by Sukhi Turner.[4] He was re-elected to the Dunedin City Council as a councillor in 1998. He remained a city councillor until 2010 and was chair of the Finance and Strategy Committee from 2007 to 2010.[5][6] In the 2010 Dunedin local elections, he stood in the Central ward, but was unsuccessful.[7]

Outside politics

In 2010 Walls was chairman of Dunedin International Airport Limited; a fellow of the Institute of Directors in New Zealand (FInstD) and a fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Management (FNZIM). He was a justice of the peace and was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for public services in the 1996 Queen's Birthday Honours.[5][8]

He died suddenly in his Dunedin home on 30 October 2011 at the age of 74, and is survived by his wife June and three children.[9]

References

1. Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
2. "Five Chosen for Bays Byelection". The New Zealand Herald. 6 August 1980. p. 2.
3. "Byelection Field Cut to Four". The New Zealand Herald. 12 August 1980. p. 1.
4. Miller, Tim (19 May 2013). "Greens to announce mayoral candidate". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
5. "Councillor Richard Walls – Hills Ward". Dunedin City Council. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
6. Power, Simon (30 March 2010). "Minister announces SOE board appointments". infonews.co.nz. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
7. "Dunedin City Council – Central Ward". Elections2010. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
8. "Queen's Birthday honours list 1996". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 3 June 1996. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
9. Fox, Rebecca (31 October 2011). "Shock at death of Richard Walls". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 31 October 2011.

• The Cyclopedia of Otago-Southland 1998

New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Ethel McMillan	Member of Parliament for Dunedin North 1975–1978	Succeeded by Stan Rodger
Political offices
Preceded by Cliff Skeggs	Mayor of Dunedin 1989–1995	Succeeded by Sukhi Turner