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Dunedin mayor Jules Radich being sworn in as mayor last year. It is yet to be decided how his service will be honoured in the future.
Should former mayors be honoured with a costly portrait, their name on an honours board, or a special gold link in the mayoral chain?
Councillors in Dunedin cannot decide – and so have commissioned a report to get the best possible advice.
Dunedin City Council’s civic affairs committee met on Monday to review how it recognises the service of former mayors.
Options included the commissioning of a special civic portrait, having their name on the council’s official honours board, or the addition of the gold link in the chain of office.
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Part of the issue was that no policy could be located regarding the portraits, which have previously been funded by the council, while none exist for the links, which are funded by former mayors.
“We think it will be useful to have some clarity,” council chief executive Sandy Graham said.
If there was a clear council policy, then it could budget accordingly, she said.
Hamish McNeilly/Stuff
Dunedin City Council’s Municipal Chambers and Civic Centre. How the city’s former leaders are recognised for their service is up for debate.
Cr Christine Garey noted that the tradition of the portraits started back in the 1940s, but many of the portraits appeared to pre-date that time.
That was because the pre-1940 portraits were not in mayoral regalia, Graham said.
Cr Bill Acklin, the committee chairperson, said he preferred the choice of having a portrait or a photograph be up to the former mayor, however one of the major issues was a question of space.
“We know that there are a lot that aren’t on display at the moment, and really they should be.”
He said the mayoral chain was too heavy to wear, hence why there was a second chain, and that also represented “a waste”.
Cr Lee Vandervis said a lack of a policy had advantages and disadvantages.
He advocated for the links to be on public display, but the real issue was over the portrait, and said it represented a unique opportunity for Dunedin to acquire an artwork.
Different styles of recent portraits were ‘’valuable artistic records in [their] own right’’, and he was of the opinion the art gallery could fund the portraits via its acquisition budget.
Cr David Benson-Pope said he was a supporter of the tradition of the portrait, and for former mayors to fund a new link, but did not support another report.
Cr Sophie Barker said Dunedin was the country’s heritage city, and it was important to uphold the tradition of a portrait.
The vote for a new report on how to honour former mayors was deadlocked, with Acklin using his casting vote to support the recommendation.
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