Mayor of Carterton

Mayor of Carterton
Common seal of the Carterton District Council
Incumbent
Steve Cretney
since 2025
StyleHis/Her Worship
Term length
  • Three years
Inaugural holderRichard Fairbrother
Formation1887; 139 years ago (1887)
DeputyGrace Ayling
Salary$100,365
WebsiteOfficial website

The mayor of Carterton is the mayor of the Carterton District, which is administered by Carterton District Council, and earlier the office oversaw the Carterton Borough from 1887 until 1989, when Carterton Borough and Wairarapa South County were amalgamated to form Carterton District.

The current mayor of Carterton is Steve Cretney who was elected in 2025.

Georgina Beyer, New Zealand's first transgender mayor, held the office from 1995 to 1999.

List of mayors

Name Portrait Term
Mayor of Carterton Borough
1 Richard Fairbrother 1887–1891
2 Alfred Booth 1891–1892
3 George Deller 1892–1901
4 James Baillie 1901–1904
5 George Augustus Fairbrother 1904–1905
6 James Brown 1905–1907
7 Willie Moore 1907–1909
8 Adam Armstrong 1909–1910
9 J. A. Dudson 1910–1911
10 Frank Feist 1911–1914
11 M. D. Hornsby 1914–1915
12 J. T. Marryat Hornsby 1916–1917
13 Gordon Hughan 1917–1919
14 William Howard Booth 1919–1923
15 William Fisher 1923–1936
16 D. L. Taverner 1936–1947
17 Ron Wakelin 1947–1971
18 W. P. Chisholm 1971–1984
19 Barry Keys 1984–1989
Mayor of Carterton District
19 Barry Keys 1989–1995
20 Georgina Beyer 1995–2000
– Brian Cameron (acting) 2000
21 Martin Tankersley 2000–2004
22 Gary McPhee 2004–2010
23 Ron Mark 2010–2014
– John Booth (acting) 2014
24 John Booth 2014–2019
25 Greg Lang 2019–2022
(23) Ron Mark 2022–2025
26 Steve Cretney 2025–present

List of deputy mayors

Name Term Mayor
Deputy mayor of Carterton Borough
Adam Armstrong c. July 1906–c. August 1906 Brown
William Fisher 1921–1923 Booth
Gordon Hughan 1923–c. 1930 Fisher
Unknown c. 1930–c. 1934
D. L. Taverner fl.1934–1936
W. CM. Sorensen 1936–1938 Taverner
Edward McKenzie 1938–1944
Herbert Mortenson 1944–1950
Taverner

Wakelin

C. J. Churchouse 1950–? Wakelin
Unknown c. 1950–1988 –
Eion Clarke fl.1988 Keys
Deputy mayor of Carterton District
Neil Wilson Monk 1989–? Keys
Unknown c. 1989–c. 2000 –
Brian Cameron ?–2000 Beyer
Position vacant (April 2000) Cameron (acting)
Richard Booth ?–2004 Tankersley
Bill Knowles 2004–2007 McPhee
Ruth Carter 2007–2010
Elaine Brazendale 2010–2013 Mark
John Booth 2013–2014
Position vacant (September–October 2014) Booth (acting)
Elaine Brazendale 2014–2016 Booth
Russell Keys 2016–2019
Rebecca Vergunst 2019–2022 Lang
Dale Williams 2022–2024 Mark
Steve Cretney 2024–2025
Grace Ayling 2025–present Cretney

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 Georgina Beyer stepped down as mayor upon her election as a member of the New Zealand Parliament for Wairarapa, resulting in deputy mayor Brian Cameron's appointment as acting mayor and the vacancy of the deputy mayor position.
  2. 1 2 Ron Mark stepped down as mayor of Carterton upon his election as a member of the New Zealand Parliament in the 2014 general election. This resulted in deputy mayor John Booth's appointment as acting mayor, with the deputy mayor position becoming vacant during this time.
  3. ↑ There are conflicting reports about the spelling of Sorensen's surname, whether it be Sorensen or Sorenson. However, his obituary notes his surname as Sorensen, therefore, this is what he is referred to as in this article.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "2025 Triennial Elections Declaration of Result" (PDF). ElectionNZ. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  2. ↑ Edmunds, Susan (13 June 2024). "How much your local council gets paid". RNZ. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  3. ↑ "Carmen Rupe and Georgina Beyer – Gender diversity – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand". Teara.govt.nz. 4 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  4. ↑ "Seven in a row for Mayor Bob – Local Vote 2004 – NZ Herald News". Nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  5. ↑ "Local Body Elections: Winners and Losers". TVNZ. Archived from the original on 13 October 2010. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "Former NZ First MP new Carterton mayor | Radio New Zealand News". Radionz.co.nz. 9 October 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  7. ↑ Crombie, Nathan (25 September 2014). "Tears as Mark bids council farewell". The New Zealand Herald. Wairarapa Times Age. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
  8. ↑ Piers Fuller (29 October 2014). "Carterton welcomes new mayor – national". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  9. ↑ "Three new mayors in Wairarapa". 9 October 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  10. ↑ "Local and General". Wairarapa Daily Times. Vol. XXX, no. 8510. 24 July 1906. p. 4. Retrieved 7 October 2026.
  11. ↑ "Carterton Notes". Wairarapa Daily Times. Vol. XXX, no. 8518. 2 August 1906. p. 6. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  12. ↑ "Carterton Notes". Wairarapa Daily Times. Vol. XXX, no. 8533. 20 August 1906. p. 6. Retrieved 7 October 2026.
  13. ↑ "Personal". Wairarapa Age. 5 May 1921. p. 5. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  14. ↑ "Carterton Borough Council". Wairarapa Age. 26 April 1923. p. 7. Retrieved 8 October 2026.
  15. ↑ "Personal". Wairarapa Age. 3 May 1923. p. 5. Retrieved 8 April 2026.
  16. ↑ "Carterton Affairs". Wairarapa Age. 25 June 1930. p. 4. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
  17. ↑ "Labour's Policy". Wairarapa Age. 16 June 1934. p. 5. Retrieved 8 April 2026.
  18. ↑ "Carterton Affairs". Wairarapa Age. 1 July 1936. p. 7. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  19. ↑ "Obituary". Evening Post. 16 September 1963. p. 24. Retrieved 8 April 2026.
  20. ↑ "Personal Items". Wairarapa Daily Times. 26 August 1936. p. 4. Retrieved 8 April 2026.
  21. ↑ "Enjoyable Gathering". Wairarapa Times-Age. 27 April 1938. p. 6. Retrieved 8 April 2026.
  22. ↑ "County Affairs". Wairarapa Times-Age. 17 December 1943. p. 3. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  23. ↑ "Carterton". Wairarapa Times-Age. 20 June 1938. p. 9. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  24. ↑ "Borough Affairs". Wairarapa Times-Age. 7 June 1944. p. 3. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  25. ↑ "Services Praised". Wairarapa Times-Age. 10 November 1950. p. 4. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
  26. ↑ "Borough Affairs". Wairarapa Times-Age. 13 December 1950. p. 5. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  27. ↑ Kavanagh-Hall, Erin (23 June 2015). "Wheelwright turns old skill into community asset". The New Zealand Herald. Wairarapa Midweek. Retrieved 26 December 2025.
  28. ↑ "The merger battles of 1989". Wairarapa Midweek. Wairarapa Times-Age. 26 April 2017. p. 29. Retrieved 7 April 2026 – via Issuu.
  29. ↑ Pierce, David (15 April 2003). "Straight race for Carterton". The Evening Post. p. 3.
  30. ↑ "Carterton District Council Annual Report 2002/2003" (PDF). Carterton District Council. 30 June 2003. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  31. ↑ Dickson, Walt (16 September 2010). "Three contest Carterton mayoralty". Stuff. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  32. ↑ "Annual Report for the year ending 30 June 2010" (PDF). Carterton District Council. 30 June 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  33. ↑ "Knowles ousted as deputy by Carter". NZ Herald. Wairarapa Times Age. 1 November 2007. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  34. ↑ "Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2013" (PDF). Carterton District Council. 30 June 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
  35. ↑ Fuller, Piers (29 October 2014). "Carterton welcomes new mayor". Stuff. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  36. ↑ "Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2014" (PDF). Carterton District Council. 30 June 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  37. ↑ "Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2016" (PDF). Carterton District Council. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  38. ↑ "Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2017" (PDF). Carterton District Council. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  39. ↑ "Carterton District Council Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2021" (PDF). Carterton District Council. 30 June 2021. p. 4. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  40. ↑ "Agenda of Ordinary Council meeting – Wednesday, 7 December 2022". carterton.infocouncil.biz. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  41. ↑ "Minutes of Ordinary Council meeting – Wednesday, 1 May 2024" (PDF). Carterton District Council. 1 May 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  42. ↑ "Carterton Crier August 2024" (PDF). Carterton Crier. August 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  43. ↑ Teodoro, Sue (29 October 2025). "Craig, Grace and Rob: Wairarapa's three new deputy mayors". The Post. Retrieved 15 November 2025.