Ron Guthrey
Encyclopedia
Albert Ronald Guthrey OBE MC
(15 January 1916 – 8 September 2008) was a councillor for Christchurch City Council
for 22 years before being elected Mayor of Christchurch
. He was a World War II veteran and he and his family were (and still are) well known business operators in Christchurch
.
, Hokianga
on 15 January 1916. He attended Waitaki Boys' High School
. He was an entrepreneur from a young age, as shown by his insurance scheme for caning. Guthrey charged a shilling a term and paid out a penny per whack. The insurance scheme folded when a number of boarders staged a sleep in and were disciplined accordingly. He saved himself by walking into town, buying a case of small apples, and because there was no tuck shop at school, was able to sell them at 100% mark-up.
on 5 January 1940 for Egypt
.
In November 1941 Guthrey's battalion was part of the New Zealand 4th Infantry Brigade in the 2nd New Zealand Division, he was the second lieutenant
commanding the Bren Gun Carrier platoon. For a series of actions on 22 November, 23 November and on 25 November, he was recommended for the Military Cross
by his battalion commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Howard Kippenberger
. Kippenberger praised Guthrey's "skill and dash" on the Bardia
Road on 22 November, and called Guthey's flank attack on Bir Cleta on 23 November "probably decisive"; but most praise was reserved for his rescue of the crew of another Bren Gun Barrier under heavy artillery fire on 25 November. A few days later, during the Battle of Belhamed on 1 December 1941, Guthrey was wounded and lost a leg. He lay on the battlefield until a German burial party in a captured New Zealand truck found him and took him to a hospital. His MC was duly gazetted
on 20 January 1942. He did not learn of it until some time later when his parents sent him a newspaper clipping containing this news.
, "for services to local government". He was strong proponent of the Lyttelton road tunnel
, and of the Christchurch International Airport
. He chaired the Airport Committee at the time of the opening of the new terminal building in 1960. Ron Guthrey Road near the airport is named in commemoration of his influence on the airport's development.
He championed the opening up of Hagley Park
through the Armagh Street bridge and supported the development of the Botanic Gardens
car park, and implemented the "toast rack" (an electrically powered cart with commentary for Botanic Gardens tours). He was responsible for the motorway development (Brougham Street), the first flyover (at the Colombo Street
-Moorhouse Avenue intersection), the first parking building, the saving of Mona Vale
as a public park for the citizens, and the beginning of local body amalgamation.
He was also responsible for the introduction of the one-way street system.
The major controversy is the "road through the park proposal", which would have seen Harper Avenue diverted to connect with Salisbury Street through North Hagley Park
. Work on the deviation began in 1970. The outcry from opponents to the scheme and the 1971 local body election result put a stop to the work. Guthrey lost the mayoralty to Neville Pickering
, who stopped the works. Peter Skellerup, a Christchurch City Councillor from 1958 to 1980, was parks and recreation chairman at that time. Skellerup fought against the scheme and took great satisfaction from his victory in this battle.
The other controversy occurred when he removed a placard from the Cenotaph
monument in Cathedral Square
on Anzac Day
, 1970. It had been placed by the Progressive Youth Movement, and read "to the victims of fascism". He condemned the act as an insult to the war dead.
An article in the Christchurch Press described him as a "go-getter from way back" with "a list of accomplishments that fill a book". The Guthrey family is a well-known Christchurch family, having established Guthrey Travel and Guthrey Coachlines, among other businesses.
Established in 2001, Paralympics New Zealand
recognises individuals who have given outstanding service to the organisation and Paralympic sport by awarding them a Paralympics New Zealand Order of Merit, which Guthrey honoured in the inaugural year for his contribution of service to the Paralympic movement, replacing his life membership. He was a Vice President and a Foundation Representative of the Finance Committee of the New Zealand Paraplegic & Physically Disabled Federation from 1978 to 1986.
On 8 September 2008, Ron Guthrey and his wife Mary died within 90 minutes of each other. Mary Guthrey had been sick for some time and died at 8:45 pm Ron Guthrey died at 10:15 pm, only 5 minutes after having been told that his wife had died. Their son Peter Guthrey described them as a very close couple: "They just lived for each other. Mum had a stroke some time ago and I think dad was just hanging in there for her. When she went it was like dad decided it was time to go too."
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(15 January 1916 – 8 September 2008) was a councillor for Christchurch City Council
Christchurch City Council
The Christchurch City Council is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since 2007, the Mayor of Christchurch is Bob Parker, who stood as an independent candidate...
for 22 years before being elected Mayor of Christchurch
Mayor of Christchurch
The Mayor of Christchurch is the head of the municipal government of Christchurch, New Zealand, and presides over the Christchurch City Council. The mayor is directly elected using a First Past the Post electoral system...
. He was a World War II veteran and he and his family were (and still are) well known business operators in Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
.
Early life
Guthrey was born in RaweneRawene
Rawene is a town on the south side of the Hokianga harbour, in Northland, New Zealand. State Highway 12 passes to the south. The town lies at the apex of a peninsula...
, Hokianga
Hokianga
Hokianga is an area surrounding the Hokianga Harbour, also known as The Hokianga River, a long estuarine drowned valley on the west coast in the north of the North Island of New Zealand....
on 15 January 1916. He attended Waitaki Boys' High School
Waitaki Boys' High School
Waitaki Boys' High School is a secondary school for boys located in the northern part of the town of Oamaru, Otago, New Zealand, with day and boarding facilities, and was founded in 1883. It currently has a school roll of just over 530....
. He was an entrepreneur from a young age, as shown by his insurance scheme for caning. Guthrey charged a shilling a term and paid out a penny per whack. The insurance scheme folded when a number of boarders staged a sleep in and were disciplined accordingly. He saved himself by walking into town, buying a case of small apples, and because there was no tuck shop at school, was able to sell them at 100% mark-up.
Military service
Guthrey was a member of the New Zealand 20th Battalion during World War II. The battalion left LytteltonLyttelton, New Zealand
Lyttelton is a port town on the north shore of Lyttelton Harbour close to Banks Peninsula, a suburb of Christchurch on the eastern coast of the South Island of New Zealand....
on 5 January 1940 for Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
.
In November 1941 Guthrey's battalion was part of the New Zealand 4th Infantry Brigade in the 2nd New Zealand Division, he was the second lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
commanding the Bren Gun Carrier platoon. For a series of actions on 22 November, 23 November and on 25 November, he was recommended for the Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
by his battalion commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Howard Kippenberger
Howard Kippenberger
Major-General Sir Howard Karl Kippenberger, KBE, CB, DSO, ED, , known as Kip, served as a New Zealand soldier in both World Wars.-Personal life:Howard Kippenberger married Ruth Isobel Flynn, of Lyttelton in 1922...
. Kippenberger praised Guthrey's "skill and dash" on the Bardia
Bardia
Bardia is a geographic region in the Democratic Republic of Nepal.Bardia comprises a portion of the Terai, or lowland hills and valleys of southern Nepal. The Terai is over 1,000 feet in elevation, and extends all along the Indian border...
Road on 22 November, and called Guthey's flank attack on Bir Cleta on 23 November "probably decisive"; but most praise was reserved for his rescue of the crew of another Bren Gun Barrier under heavy artillery fire on 25 November. A few days later, during the Battle of Belhamed on 1 December 1941, Guthrey was wounded and lost a leg. He lay on the battlefield until a German burial party in a captured New Zealand truck found him and took him to a hospital. His MC was duly gazetted
London Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
on 20 January 1942. He did not learn of it until some time later when his parents sent him a newspaper clipping containing this news.
Political career
Guthrey was a Christchurch city councillor from 1944 to 1968, and served as mayor from 1968 to 1971. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1968 Queen's Birthday HonoursQueen's Birthday Honours
The Queen's Birthday Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the celebration of the Queen's Official Birthday in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen...
, "for services to local government". He was strong proponent of the Lyttelton road tunnel
Lyttelton Road Tunnel
The Lyttelton road tunnel links the New Zealand city of Christchurch and its seaport, Lyttelton. It opened in 1964 and carries just over 10,000 vehicles/day...
, and of the Christchurch International Airport
Christchurch International Airport
-Facts & figures:As the gateway for Christchurch and the South Island, Christchurch International Airport is New Zealand’s second largest airport.5,908,077 passengers travelled in and out of Christchurch International Airport from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009...
. He chaired the Airport Committee at the time of the opening of the new terminal building in 1960. Ron Guthrey Road near the airport is named in commemoration of his influence on the airport's development.
He championed the opening up of Hagley Park
Hagley Park
Hagley Park is the largest urban open space in Christchurch, New Zealand, and was created in 1855 by the Provincial Government. According to the government's decree at that time, Hagley Park is "reserved forever as a public park, and shall be open for the recreation and enjoyment of the public."...
through the Armagh Street bridge and supported the development of the Botanic Gardens
Christchurch Botanic Gardens
The Christchurch Botanic Gardens, located in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand are botanical gardens founded in 1863, when an English oak was planted on 9 July 1863 to commemorate the solemnisation of marriage between Prince Albert and Princess Alexandra of Denmark.The Gardens sprawl...
car park, and implemented the "toast rack" (an electrically powered cart with commentary for Botanic Gardens tours). He was responsible for the motorway development (Brougham Street), the first flyover (at the Colombo Street
Colombo Street
Colombo Street is a main road of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It runs south-north through the centre of Christchurch with a break at Cathedral Square. As with many other central Christchurch streets, it is named for a colonial Anglican bishopric, Colombo, in what at the time was known as...
-Moorhouse Avenue intersection), the first parking building, the saving of Mona Vale
Mona Vale, Christchurch
Mona Vale, with its homestead formerly known as Karewa, is a public park of 4 ha in the Christchurch suburb of Fendalton. The homestead and gate house are both listed as heritage buildings with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust . The fernery and the rose garden, together with the setting of the...
as a public park for the citizens, and the beginning of local body amalgamation.
He was also responsible for the introduction of the one-way street system.
Controversies
Guthrey is remembered for two main controversies.The major controversy is the "road through the park proposal", which would have seen Harper Avenue diverted to connect with Salisbury Street through North Hagley Park
Hagley Park
Hagley Park is the largest urban open space in Christchurch, New Zealand, and was created in 1855 by the Provincial Government. According to the government's decree at that time, Hagley Park is "reserved forever as a public park, and shall be open for the recreation and enjoyment of the public."...
. Work on the deviation began in 1970. The outcry from opponents to the scheme and the 1971 local body election result put a stop to the work. Guthrey lost the mayoralty to Neville Pickering
Neville Pickering
Neville George Pickering was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.He won the 1957 election in the St Albans electorate in 1957...
, who stopped the works. Peter Skellerup, a Christchurch City Councillor from 1958 to 1980, was parks and recreation chairman at that time. Skellerup fought against the scheme and took great satisfaction from his victory in this battle.
The other controversy occurred when he removed a placard from the Cenotaph
Cenotaph
A cenotaph is an "empty tomb" or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been interred elsewhere. The word derives from the Greek κενοτάφιον = kenotaphion...
monument in Cathedral Square
Cathedral Square, Christchurch
Cathedral Square, locally known simply as the Square, is the geographical centre and heart of Christchurch, New Zealand, where the city's Anglican cathedral, ChristChurch Cathedral is located...
on Anzac Day
ANZAC Day
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all...
, 1970. It had been placed by the Progressive Youth Movement, and read "to the victims of fascism". He condemned the act as an insult to the war dead.
Life outside politics
After having lost a leg in the war, he returned to New Zealand and continued to play sports (tennis and golf).An article in the Christchurch Press described him as a "go-getter from way back" with "a list of accomplishments that fill a book". The Guthrey family is a well-known Christchurch family, having established Guthrey Travel and Guthrey Coachlines, among other businesses.
Established in 2001, Paralympics New Zealand
New Zealand at the Paralympics
New Zealand has sent delegations to the Summer Paralympics since 1968, and to the Winter Paralympics since 1980, .The Paralympic Games are a multi-sport event for athletes with physical and sensorial disabilities. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and...
recognises individuals who have given outstanding service to the organisation and Paralympic sport by awarding them a Paralympics New Zealand Order of Merit, which Guthrey honoured in the inaugural year for his contribution of service to the Paralympic movement, replacing his life membership. He was a Vice President and a Foundation Representative of the Finance Committee of the New Zealand Paraplegic & Physically Disabled Federation from 1978 to 1986.
On 8 September 2008, Ron Guthrey and his wife Mary died within 90 minutes of each other. Mary Guthrey had been sick for some time and died at 8:45 pm Ron Guthrey died at 10:15 pm, only 5 minutes after having been told that his wife had died. Their son Peter Guthrey described them as a very close couple: "They just lived for each other. Mum had a stroke some time ago and I think dad was just hanging in there for her. When she went it was like dad decided it was time to go too."