Title: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Otago & Southland Provincial Districts]

Author: Cyclopedia Company Limited

Publication details: The Cyclopedia Company, Limited, 1905, Christchurch

Part of: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand

License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 New Zealand Licence

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By a special ordinance of the Otago Provincial Council, passed in 1865, and afterwards ratified by the General Assembly, the municipal jurisdiction of Dunedin was vested in a City Council, which superseded a Town Board. Mr. William Mason was elected the first Mayor on the 21st of July, 1865, and on the 1st of August of the same year, the first City Council was elected, with Messrs John Griffen, Edward Chalmers, John H. Barr, Alexander Carrick, David Ross, Thomas Birch, Henry Driver, and James Turner as its members. Since the inception of the Council, one hundred and fourteen citizens, including the present twelve councillors, have represented the retepayers, and given their service gratuitously for the benefit of the city; some for only a limited period, but a large number of them have unselfishly devoted many years to the public interest. Some have filled other important public positions, and their lives have been inseparably associated with the rise and prosperity of Otago.