Former Invercargill and Waitematā mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt has died early this morning aged 78.
Shadbolt was one of New Zealand’s longest-serving mayors, holding office for eight terms as Invercargill mayor between 1993 and 1995 and again from 1998 to 2022, as well as two terms as mayor of Waitematā (Auckland) from 1983 to 1989.
He was awarded the Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2019 New Year’s Honours for services to local government and the community.
Over several decades in public life, Sir Tim was closely associated with promoting Invercargill nationally and internationally.
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
Sir Tim Shadbolt has died. Colourful guy. Mayor of Invercargill for ages. People seemed to like him. I won a mathematics prize in 7th form and at the prizegiving I was the only boy…rest were girls. He presented, and said it was good to see that men still won the REAL subjects. pic.twitter.com/6jT7i7hL8l
— William McGimpsey🇳🇿 (@TheZeitgeistNZ) January 8, 2026
I was saddened by the passing of Sir Tim Shadbolt, a former Mayor of Waitematā City here in Tāmaki Makaurau and Invercargill in the deep south.
You didn’t have to like his politics to like the guy.
Sir Tim was one of our most recognisable politicians and was known as a champion… pic.twitter.com/4bOF3aXfu2
— Mayor Wayne Brown (@MayorWayneBrown) January 8, 2026
Image credit: Office of the Governor-General, CC BY 4.0
One of the few genuine people in NZ politics….RIP………
Eff off all the indignant traitors to Shadbolt’s legacy!
He was a fierce independent thinker. He was unruly and the Fake Legacy Media made a lot of $$$ of his nonpartisan standing with thejr BS media hash. Oh do we need to be remembered of all that hashed-up media hype BS?
However, it has to also be said [please prove me wrong], he got caught up in the covid BS scam because he was then thinking about his own old a**, promoting the vaxx, like as many oldies who were blinded with fear and propagandized to parrot, actually forced to promote if they wanted to see their doctor.
Nevertheless, Shadbolt, IMO, never sold out to globalists. So ..f off all you fake pallbearers. YOU are out!… but you are too arrogant to realize it, ay? Times are-a-changing….because We The People do not believe your Bullshit anymore!
I’ve always thought of Tim as a man of good intentions and character with a sense of humour.
A colorful larger than life character
Towed his concrete mixer (named “Karl Marx”) behind the mayoral Daimler in the 1983 Henderson Christmas parade
Like all of Us not perfect but a trier
Just another student protester from the 70’s.
Well at least students had a brain in the 70s.
Look at the duds nowadays: conformists and statists too naive to comprehend how they already have been sold.
I remember watching him doing the world record for the longest interview on CUE Tv (when it existed).
The people of Invercargill liked him and it was common to see him around the town. He never thought he was godlike because of his position. He was a man who was true to himself.
There are those of the ex and present ICC city councillors who treated Sir Tim very badly during his later days as mayor. Probably because right to the end he refused to follow The Agenda.
Nevertheless, he will be remembered and they won’t.
RIP Sir Tim.
Was he a carpet bagger?
Pretty cool dude by all accounts