The mayor of Hastings is the elected head of local government in the Hastings District of New Zealand's North Island; one of 67 mayors in the country. The principal town of the district (and its namesake) is Hastings. The mayor presides over the Hastings District Council and is directly elected using the first-past-the-post method.

The first mayor was Robert Wellwood, and the current mayor is Wendy Schollum, first elected in the 2025 election.

List of mayors

No.AffiliationMayorPortraitTerm
1IndependentRobert Wellwood (1836–1927)1886–1887
2IndependentGeorge Ellis (1837–1928)1887–1890
3IndependentWilliam Fletcher Burnett (1848–1893)1890–1891
(2)IndependentGeorge Ellis (1837–1928)1891–1894
4IndependentCecil Fitzroy (1844–1917)1894–1899
5IndependentWilliam Dennett (1845–1928)1899–1904
6IndependentWilliam Lane1904–1905
(5)IndependentWilliam Dennett (1845–1928)1905–1906
7IndependentThomas Thompson (1855–1938)1906–1909
8IndependentJohn Miller (1869–1940)1909–1911
9IndependentJames Garnett (1856–1913)1911–1913
10IndependentWilliam Hart (1863–1939)1913–1917
11IndependentHorace Simson (1874–1954)1917–1919
12IndependentGeorge Ebbett (1872–1954)1919–1921
(10)IndependentWilliam Hart (1863–1939)1921–1922
13IndependentGeorge Maddison (1887–1949)1922–1929
14IndependentGeorge Roach (1866–1934)1929
–Position vacant (November 1929)
(14)IndependentGeorge Roach (1866–1934)1929–1933
(13)IndependentGeorge Maddison (1887–1949)1933–1941
15CitizensAlgernon Rainbow (1885–1969)1941–1947
16CitizensRobert Douglas Brown (1901–1963)1947–1953
17Ed Bate (1901–1999)1953–1959
18Ron Giorgi (1907–1997)1959–1974
19Jim O'Connor (1936–2000)1974–1986
20IndependentJeremy Dwyer (1947–2005)1986–2001
21IndependentLawrence Yule (b. 1963)2001–2017
22IndependentSandra Hazlehurst (b. 1959)2017–2025
23IndependentWendy Schollum2025–present

List of deputy mayors

† Died in office

NameTermMayor
J. Nelson WilliamsOctober–November 1894Fitzroy
W. BeilbySeptember–December 1899
George EllisJanuary–February 1907Thompson
A. A. Georgefl.1908
W. H. Smith1909–c.1910Miller
Thomas Stylesc.1910–1921
Miller?
Garnett
Hart
Simson
Ebbett
D. E. Davis1921–1922Hart
George Maddison1922
T. Clarkson1922–1923Maddison
F. W. Cook1923–1925
Matthew Johnson1925–1927[†]
S. J. McKee (acting)1927–1929
Robert Henderson1929–1933Roach
Vacant
Roach
Algernon Rainbow1933–1941Maddison
S. Ashcroft1941–1946Rainbow
Brown
Alexander Kirkpatrick1946–1962Brown
Bate
Giorgi
J. K. Agnewfl.1962–1968Giorgi
Unknownc.1968–c.1971
E. J. Velvinfl.1971
Unknownc.1971–c.1974
J. C. Mackerseyfl.1974Connor
Unknownc.1974–1989–
Selwyn John Begley1989–1992Dwyer
Unknown1992–c.1994
Harry Romanesfl.1994
Unknownc.1994–2001
Cynthia Bowers2001–2016Yule
Sandra Hazlehurst2016–2017
Simon Nixon (acting)2017Hazlehurst (acting)
Tania Kerr2017–2025Hazlehurst
Michael Fowler2025–presentSchollum

Elections

Hastings Borough Council

Annual

  • 1886
  • 1887
  • 1888
  • 1889
  • 1890
  • 1891
  • 1892
  • 1893
  • 1894
  • 1895
  • 1896
  • 1897
  • 1898
  • 1899
  • 1900
  • 1901
  • 1902
  • 1903
  • 1904
  • 1905
  • 1906
  • 1907

Biennial

  • 1909
  • 1911
  • 1913
  • 1915
  • 1917
  • 1919
  • 1921
  • 1923
  • 1925
  • 1927
  • 1929
  • 1931
  • 1933
  • 1935

Triennial

  • 1938
  • 1941
  • 1944
  • 1947
  • 1950
  • 1953

Hastings City Council

  • 1956
  • 1959
  • 1962
  • 1965
  • 1968
  • 1971
  • 1974
  • 1977
  • 1980
  • 1983
  • 1986

Hastings District Council

Notes

  • From Swamp to City: A History of Hastings, New Zealand. Hastings: Heretaunga Intermediate School. 1961. pp. 103–106.