Cull's honour confirmed by Queen before death

Joan Wilson, wife of the late Dave Cull, with a letter from Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy...
Joan Wilson, wife of the late Dave Cull, with a letter from Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy confirming he was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH
CNZM

David Charles Cull

Dunedin
Services to local government

The honour for former Dunedin mayor, the late Dave Cull, had been confirmed by the Queen before he died.

Dave Cull
Dave Cull
Mr Cull was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to local government.

"My family and I are incredibly proud of Dave’s achievement in being awarded this honour," his widow, Joan Wilson, said.

He was approached by the honours unit in the Cabinet Office several weeks before his death and she was pleased he accepted in time for the award to be approved, Ms Wilson said.

As happens for other honours recipients, they had to keep quiet about the award ahead of today’s announcement.

"I probably found it harder than Dave," Ms Wilson said.

Mr Cull was elected to the Dunedin City Council in 2007 and won the mayoralty in 2010.

He served three terms as mayor and was Local Government New Zealand president from July 2017 to August last year.

He was appointed Southern District Health Board chairman at the end of 2019, but had to stand aside in October last year because of illness, later confirmed to be pancreatic cancer.

The citation notes the Queen’s approval of the award took effect on April 26, which was the day before Mr Cull died.

It described him as a mayor who implemented a plan for restructuring council-controlled organisations, improved the financial state of the city and placed openness and transparency at the forefront of the democratic process.

He instigated work in heritage reuse and Dunedin had fostered regeneration of communities, the citation said.

"He built strong sister city relationships with Edinburgh and Shanghai and supported a number of United Nations initiatives to build international cultural links and support sustainable development."

He supported Dunedin’s bid to become a Unesco City of Literature.

He also served as Commonwealth Local Government Forum vice-chairman and United Cities and Local Governments Asia Pacific co-president.

Ms Wilson said her husband maintained the city’s achievements during his time as mayor were the result of collective efforts.

"He wanted Otepoti to be an attractive place for young people and families to settle," she said.

"His leadership style was positive and he recognised that in order to get things done you had to pull people together.

"The heartfelt tributes which have flooded in since Dave’s death have shown just how well regarded he was — locally, nationally and internationally — and I know Dave would have felt all those people were as much a part of this special honour as he was."

grant.miller@odt.co.nz

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