Roy McElroy

Roy Granville McElroy CMG (2 April 1907 – 16 May 1994) was a New Zealand lawyer and politician, who served as mayor of Auckland City from 1965 to 1968.

Roy McElroy CMG
33rd Mayor of Auckland City
In office 1965–1968
Deputy	Fred Glasse
Preceded by	Dove-Myer Robinson
Succeeded by	Dove-Myer Robinson
Personal details
Born	Roy Granville McElroy 2 April 1907 Auckland, New Zealand
Died	16 May 1994 (aged 87) Auckland, New Zealand
Political party	National
Spouse(s)	Margaret Lillian Pountney ​ ​ (m. 1936; div. 1943)​ Joan Holm Biss (d. 1983) Betty Joan Boyd MacGregor

Early life and career

Born in Auckland on 2 April 1907, McElroy was the son of Herbert Thomas Granville McElroy and Frances Catherine McElroy (née Hampton).[1][2] He was educated at Thames High School and Auckland Grammar School, and went on to study at Auckland University College from 1924.[3][4] He gained a Bachelor of Laws in 1928, and a Master of Laws with second-class honours in 1929.[3] He worked as a law clerk in Auckland, and in 1932 was awarded a postgraduate scholarship in law by the University of New Zealand.[3] He travelled to Britain and completed a PhD in law at the University of Cambridge in 1934.[5] He was conferred the degree of Doctor of Laws by the University of New Zealand in 1935.[6]

On 3 December 1936, McElroy married Margaret Lillian Pountney,[7] but they divorced in December 1943.[8] He later married Joan Holm Blackie (née Biss), and, following the latter's death, Betty Joan Boyd MacGregor.[9]

McElroy later became a partner in the Auckland law firm of McElroy, Duncan and Preddle. During World War II, he served with the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force from 1940 to 1944, rising to become a captain in 14 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment.

Political career

McElroy was an Auckland City Councillor for 15 years from 1938 to 1953, when he was deselected by the Citizens and Ratepayers association (C&R). Later, in 1965, he was chosen as the C&R candidate to run against the popular incumbent Mayor Dove-Myer Robinson. He won in 1965 by 1134 votes, but in the next election in 1968, Robinson defeated him by 6000 votes. As both councillor and mayor, he supported housing and urban renewal.

McElroy was the National Party candidate for the Roskill electorate in 1943 and 1946.[10][11] He was to stand in Roskill in the cancelled 1941 election.

He later served as the Honorary Consular Agent of France from 1948 to 1972 and was awarded the Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur by the French president, Georges Pompidou, in 1970. In the 1972 New Year Honours, McElroy was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, for services to the community.[12]

Death

McElroy died in Auckland on 16 May 1994,[1] and his ashes were buried at Purewa Cemetery.[13]

References

1. McElroy, Roy Granville, Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2015; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014
2. "Birth search: registration number 1907/10230". Births, deaths & marriages online. Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
3. "Law scholarship". The New Zealand Herald. 2 May 1932. p. 10. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
4. "Grammar year". Auckland Star. 17 December 1929. p. 11. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
5. "Scholastic honour". The New Zealand Herald. 9 June 1934. p. 12. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
6. "Doctorate of laws". The New Zealand Herald. 1 October 1935. p. 10. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
7. "Marriage search: registration number 1936/10602". Births, deaths and marriages online. Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
8. "Divorce cases". The New Zealand Herald. 16 December 1943. p. 2. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
9. "Roy Granville McElroy papers" (PDF). Auckland Council. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
10. "Electoral". The New Zealand Herald. 80 (24713). 13 October 1943. p. 5. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
11. "The General Election, 1946". National Library. 1947. pp. 1–11, 14. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
12. "No. 45556". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 1 January 1972. p. 41.
13. "Burial & cremation details". Purewa Cemetery and Crematorium. Retrieved 23 July 2017.

• Obituary in The New Zealand Herald of 17 May 1994 (section 1 page 9)