Richard Walls

Richard Francis Walls QSO JP
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Dunedin North
In office 1975 – 1978
Preceded by	Ethel McMillan
Succeeded by	Stan Rodger
52nd Mayor of Dunedin
In office 1989–1995
Preceded by	Cliff Skeggs
Succeeded by	Sukhi Turner
Personal details
Born	9 October 1937 Dunedin
Died	30 October 2011 (aged 74) Dunedin
Political party	National
Spouse(s)	married to June

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

Member of Parliament

Parliament of New Zealand
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.

Dunedin City Council

Walls was first elected onto Dunedin City Council in 1980.^[2] 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.^[2] He was re-elected to the Dunedin City Council in 1998 and until October 2010 he was a councillor representing the Hills Ward; Chair of the Finance and Strategy Committee from 2007 to 2010.^[3][4] In the 2010 Dunedin local elections, he stood in the Central ward, but was unsuccessful.^[5]

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 Companion of the Queen's Service Order for public services in the 1996 Queen's Birthday Honours.^[3]

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.^[6]

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. Miller, Tim (19 May 2013). "Greens to announce mayoral candidate". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
3. "Councillor Richard Walls – Hills Ward". Dunedin City Council. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
4. Power, Simon (30 March 2010). "Minister announces SOE board appointments". infonews.co.nz. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
5. "Dunedin City Council – Central Ward". Elections2010. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
6. Fox, Rebecca (31 October 2011). "Shock at death of Richard Walls". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 31 October 2011.

• The Cyclopedia of Otago-Southland 1998