New Zealand former Invercargill and Waitematā mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt died today. He was 78.
Sir Tim, who was awarded the Knight Companion of New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2019 New Year’s Honours List, served eight terms as Invercargill Mayor between 1993 and 1995, and again between 1998-2022, and two terms as Waitematā (Auckland) Mayor, between 1983 and 1989, making him one of the longest-serving mayors in New Zealand.
“Today we lost the cornerstone of our family and the man who has devoted himself to promoting the City of Invercargill for almost 30 years,” the mayor’s partner of many decades, Asha Dutt, said in a statement on behalf of the family.
“Tim was a kind-hearted man who cared deeply about the people around him. He was a champion for the underdog and an active political campaigner from his student days of anti-war protest, his activism for Māori rights, and his fight to keep the Southern Institute of Technology and Zero Fees autonomous.
“Tim will be remembered with gratitude, respect, and affection for his commitment to the south and his passion for life. The citizens of Invercargill can be proud of the enormous legacy he leaves.”
Invercargill Mayor Tom Campbell told RNZ he was saddened by the news of Sir Tim’s passing.
“He was an extraordinary, charismatic man. On the surface he was a bit of a joker and a bit of a showman. But also a profoundly capable person.
‘Beloved by Invercargill’
“He is beloved by the people of Invercargill and they’re going to be deeply affected by his death.”
The longstanding local leader was responsible for amplifying the city’s profile, not just around New Zealand, but offshore, Campbell said.
“You went anywhere in this country, you go into a taxi, the taxi driver says: ‘where do you come from?’ you say: ‘Invercargill’. They say ‘Sir Tim Shadbolt’.
“You could go to London and the same thing happened. You could go to Melbourne and the same thing happened.
“He was extraordinarily well known.”
Campbell, who won the city’s mayoralty last year, said aside from Sir Tim’s longevity, his advocacy for both the Southern Institute of Technology and Invercargill Airport were some of his greatest achievements in office.
“I think the city is much stronger as a consequence of having Sir Tim as mayor for as long as it did,” he said.
‘Everybody smiled’
“There’s a lot of good that comes from continuity. Just having the same person, pushing the same programmes, being well-known, being popular, everybody smiled when they saw him.
“I think he raised the spirits of Invercargill, he certainly raised the profile of Invercargill, and that’s what he’s going to be remembered for.”
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon paid tribute to Shadbolt, writing on social media that “few New Zealanders have given such devoted public service as Sir Tim.”
I’m saddened to hear of the passing of Sir Tim Shadbolt.
Few New Zealanders have given such devoted public service as Sir Tim. He served Southlanders and Aucklanders for decades – with a smile on his face and a distinctive charm.
He devoted his career to making his community…
— Christopher Luxon (@chrisluxonmp) January 8, 2026
Labour party leader Chris Hipkins also expressed his condolences.
“From all of the Labour Party, we are very sad to hear of the passing of Sir Tim Shadbolt,” he said.
“Sir Tim gave decades of service to the people of Invercargill. He was a passionate advocate for his community, a tireless public servant, and a voice for those often unheard.
“He believed deeply in the power of people and his leadership helped transform Invercargill.”
Sir Tim’s family has requested privacy during this time and said funeral service details will be announced once confirmed.
The Invercargill City Council said flowers could be left at the Blade of Grass sculpture outside the council’s Esk Street offices.
Politician needs communicating “in all ways”
When he was tapped for New Year Honours in 2018, he told RNZ that being a good politician required people to “communicate in all ways”.
“You’ve got to be an excellent and confident public speaker, you’ve got to be a good writer — you’re always writing reports or newspaper columns. You’ve got to be able to communicate via the radio, the internet, and all the changes in technology that we live in.”
“I like to think I am a good politician,” he said then.
“I guess it’s the old cliché that the proof is in the pudding and we’ve had a golden run, really, in Invercargill.
“When I arrived there we were the fastest declining city in New Zealand or Australia, and we’ve turned that around, mainly with the zero fees schemes (at the Southern Institute of Technology) where we went from a thousand students to 5000 students, so it’s good to actually be able to see changes that are significant.”
He said the zero fees scheme changed Invercargill.
“Instead of being sort of a rural backwater, we were suddenly on the cutting edge of innovation and change and that to me is the project I feel most strongly about.
‘Gritty, honest people’
“The people of Invercargill are gritty, honest, hard working and prepared to take risks, and I was a risk.”
An iconic personality
Shadbolt, with his trademark cheesy grin, became one of New Zealand’s most readily identifiable personalities.
Born in Auckland in 1947, he attended Rutherford High and Auckland University.
He first came to national prominence in the 1960s as a student activist on issues like the Vietnam war and apartheid.
A talented public speaker and debater, he worked as a concrete contractor and was a member of the Auckland Regional Council.
In 1983, Shadbolt was elected mayor of Waitematā — and spent a colourful, and at times controversial, six years in the job.
In 1997, he sued Independent News for articles on the disappearance of the mayoral chain and robes eight years earlier, and was awarded $50,000 in damages.
In 1992, he stood for mayor in Auckland, Waitakere and Dunedin, finishing third in each poll.
Elected mayor again
But the following year, Shadbolt was a mayor again, easily beating 13 rivals for the job in a byelection in Invercargill.
Voted out after only two years, he was re-elected in a landslide in 1998.
He lost his last bid for re-election in 2022.
He also showed an interest in national politics — he was the New Zealand First candidate for the Selwyn byelection in 1994, less than 24 hours after joining the party.
And in 1996, he was on the party list for the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party.
Always prepared to make fun of himself, he appeared in a famous cheese ad featuring the line: “I don’t care where, as long as I’m Mayor”.
The Invercargill City Council paid tribute to him, saying “he was a huge advocate for Invercargill and tirelessly championed for its people. His impact and legacy will be remembered for generations to come.”
“The former mayor was known for ‘putting Invercargill on the map’ and to honour this legacy, the Invercargill Airport terminal building was officially named to the Sir Tim Shadbolt Terminal last year.
“While Southland was not originally the place he called home, Invercargill will always be proud to claim him as one of its own.”
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
