Upper Hutt City Council

Upper Hutt City Council

Te Kaunihera o Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta
Type
Type
Term limits
None
Leadership
Deputy Mayor
Corey White
Chief Executive
Geoff Swainson[2]
Structure
Seats11[a]
Political groups
  Independent (11)
Length of term
3 years
Elections
FPP
Last election
11 October 2025
Next election
2028
Meeting place
Upper Hutt Civic Centre, 838–842 Fergusson Drive
Website
www.upperhutt.govt.nz
Footnotes
  1. ^ One mayor, 10 councillors

The Upper Hutt City Council (Māori: Te Kaunihera o Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta[3]) is the territorial authority for the city of Upper Hutt, New Zealand.

The council is made up of a mayor elected and 10 councillors elected at-large. They are elected using a first past the post system in triennial elections, with the most recent election being held in 2025.

The current mayor is Peri Zee[4].

History

Upper Hutt was originally administered by the Hutt County Council, which was constituted in 1877. The Upper Hutt Town Board was proclaimed on 24 April 1908, consisting of 7 elected commissioners. In 1926, the town board was replaced by a borough council.[5][6] Angus McCurdy, a former town clerk and town board commissioner, was elected as the first mayor of Upper Hutt Borough Council.[7][6]

Following the Second World War, the population of Upper Hutt underwent a major boom and in late 1965 the Government Statistician informed the borough council that they had reached the population prerequisite to gain city status. On 28 May 1966, Upper Hutt was proclaimed to be a city by Governor-general Sir Bernard Fergusson.[8][9][6]

Later in 1966, the city council applied to the New Zealand Geographic Board to change the name of the city to Trentham, but withdrew their application following an opinion poll indicating that residents were in favour of retaining the name Upper Hutt for the city.[10] A name change had also been considered by the then borough council in 1940 to distinguish itself from Hutt City Council,[11] and in the 2000s there was another short-lived campaign to change the city's name to Trentham for the same reason.[12]

On 1 April 1973, the Rimutaka Riding of Hutt County was added to the city.[13] When the Hutt County Council was abolished on 1 November 1988, the city took over administration of the Heretaunga/Pinehaven ward,[14] which was incorporated into the city with the local government reforms on 1 November 1989 when the Heretaunga/Pinehaven Community Council was abolished.[15][6]

In November 2023, the council voted by six to five to introduce a Māori ward for the 2025 and 2028 elections.[16] However, following a change in legislation regarding Māori wards, the council voted in August 2024 to rescind this decision. It thus avoided a requirement to hold a referendum on retaining the ward alongside the 2025 election.[17][18][19]

Composition

The elected mayor and councillors provide governance for the city by setting the strategic direction and making decisions on policies, plans and budgets for the council, representing the city's interests, ensuring accountability and transparency, and employing the Chief Executive.[20]

The Chief Executive is in charge of the providing advice to the council and implementing their decisions, administration of the council and employing all other council staff to achieve its strategic priorities.[20]

Current councillors

The present council was elected in the 2025 local elections, in which Peri Zee unseated incumbent mayor of 24 years Wayne Guppy, who had been seeking a ninth term in office.[21] Zee is the second female mayor for Upper Hutt, following Doris Nicholson who had been mayor from 1970-1977.[22] Newly elected councillor Gurpreet Dhillon is the first Upper Hutt councillor to be of South Asian and Indian origin.[23]

Upper Hutt City Council, 2025–2028[2][24]
Position Name Affiliation
Mayor Peri Zee None
Deputy mayor Corey White Independent
Councillor Angela McLeod None
Councillor Bill Hammond Independent
Councillor Daniel Welch Backing the Future of Upper Hutt
Councillor Dave Wheeler None
Councillor Emma Holderness Independent
Councillor Gurpreet Dhillon None
Councillor Hellen Swales The voice you deserve
Councillor Matt Carey Independent
Councillor Tracey Ultra Independent

Civic symbols

Coat of arms

Upper Hutt City was granted a coat of arms by the Royal College of Arms in 1978.[25]

Coat of arms of Upper Hutt[26]
Crest
On a wreath of the colours in front of a rock a New Zealand falcon (Falco novaeseelandiae) standing on its nest all proper.
Escutcheon
Argent a fess wavy azure between in chief two New Zealand pigeons (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) respectant and in base a tōtara tree (Podocarpus totara) couped proper.
Motto
Nihil altius pulchriusue ("Nothing higher nor more beautiful")
Symbolism
The wavy blue bar in the centre of the shield ("fess wavy azure") represents the Hutt River. The kārearea and kererū represent early bird life in the Upper Hutt Valley, while the tōtara represents the valley's original vegetation.[25]

Badge

The College of Arms also granted the council a badge, consisting of a gold chain encircling a New Zealand fantail, tail erect and expanded, perched on a twig. The council uses the badge in less formal contexts than the coat of arms.[25]

Flag

With the consent of the New Zealand Herald Extraordinary, the council adopted a flag in 1982. The flag consists of the shield of the city's coat of arms over a gold cross and a maroon field (the city's colours).[25]

Notable council members

  • Harry Kent – Olympic cyclist, elected to council in the 1977 local elections[27] and served for 9 years.[28]
  • Peter McCardle – Member of Parliament from 1990 to 1999, councillor from 2001 to 2013
  • Gregor W. Yeates – soil zoologist and ecologist, councillor from 1973 to 1977

See also

References

  1. ^ "2025 Triennial Elections Declaration of Result" (PDF). Electionz. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Our Elected Members and Executive Leadership Team". www.upperhutt.govt.nz. Upper Hutt City Council. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
  3. ^ "Our logo and bilingual branding". www.upperhutt.govt.nz. Upper Hutt City Council. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
  4. ^ "2025 Triennial Elections Declaration of Result" (PDF). Electionz. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  5. ^ Maclean, Chris (1 August 2015). "Wellington region – Government". teara.govt.nz. Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
  6. ^ a b c d "Upper Hutt (N.Z.). City Council". natlib.govt.nz. National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 10 March 2026.
  7. ^ "The Making of a Modern Town: 1900-1945". www.upperhutt.govt.nz. Upper Hutt City Council. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
  8. ^ "Becoming a city: 1945-2000". www.upperhutt.govt.nz. Upper Hutt City Council. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
  9. ^ Maclean, Chris (1 March 2016). "Wellington places – Upper Hutt". teara.govt.nz. Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
  10. ^ "Upper Hutt To Retain Name". Press. Vol. CVI, no. 31148. Papers Past. 26 August 1966. p. 6. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
  11. ^ "CHANGE OPPOSED". Evening Post. Vol. CXXX, no. 148. Papers Past. 19 December 1940. p. 6. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
  12. ^ Tso, Matthew (4 May 2018). "Charity work for horses involved in Upper Hutt renaming plot". Stuff. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
  13. ^ Maclean, Chris (1 August 2015). "The break-up of Hutt County". teara.govt.nz. Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
  14. ^ "Hutt County Abolition Order 1988 - Part II Hutt County and Upper Hutt City" (PDF). New Zealand Gazette. No. 190. 10 November 1988. pp. 4520–4521. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
  15. ^ "History of our city: Local Government in Upper Hutt". Upper Hutt City Council. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  16. ^ Boyack, Nicholas (7 November 2023). "Upper Hutt councillors narrowly supported Māori ward". The Post. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  17. ^ Ellis, Moana (30 August 2024). "Controversial law spurs wave of support for Māori seats, triggers mass polls". RNZ. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  18. ^ Maxwell, Joel (13 March 2025). "'Most will be disestablished': Pera Paniora on Māori wards and brutal referendum truth". www.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  19. ^ Perese, Daniel; Manza, Anastasia (30 October 2025). "The Māori ward that never was: Upper Hutt's lost chance in the local elections". Te Ao Māori News. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  20. ^ a b "Governance and representation". www.upperhutt.govt.nz. Upper Hutt City Council. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
  21. ^ Crimp, Lauren (13 October 2025). "'Democracy has spoken': Wayne Guppy on the almost-certain end to his 24-year mayoralty". RNZ. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  22. ^ Wong, Justin (16 October 2025). "The long game to unseat a 24-year incumbent". The Post. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  23. ^ "Meet the Asian councillors 'honoured' to have secured a seat at the table". RNZ. 20 October 2025. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  24. ^ "2025 Triennial Elections DECLARATION OF RESULT" (PDF). www.upperhutt.govt.nz. Upper Hutt City Council. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
  25. ^ a b c d "The story behind us". www.upperhutt.govt.nz. Upper Hutt City Council. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
  26. ^ College of Arms (1978). "Grant of arms to the City of Upper Hutt letters patent". Internet Archive. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
  27. ^ "Many women successful in council elections". Press. Papers Past. 10 October 1977. p. 1. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
  28. ^ "HARRY KENT". Upper Hutt Leader. PressReader.com - Digital Newspaper & Magazine Subscriptions. 21 September 2016. Archived from the original on 21 September 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
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