Remembering Sir Tim Shadbolt: Pineapple, cheese and jellybeans

Photo: Supplied/LDR - ODT/Stephen Jaquiery Charismatic, gregarious, exuberant, a joker, a showman, a larrikin: such are the epithets for long-serving mayor Tim Shadbolt, who died age 78 last week. His public funeral service was due to be held in Invercargill on Friday January 16, 2pm at the Civic Theatre. He would be remembered there not only for a life of service to the community but for his own style, charisma and upbeat charm. A mayor for about 32 years - split between two cities and three incumbencies - Sir Tim was a dedicated champion of local politics, but was perhaps remembered more for his colourful life and antics. Coming to prominence as a young anarchic Vietnam war protester, he was confident the movement would have a lasting legacy as an examination of colonialism. As an activist he was famously arrested 33 times - including for refusing to pay a $50 fine after using the word 'bulls...', and spending 25 days in Mt Eden. This was allegedly when he wrote his first published book, Bulls... and Jellybeans, published in 1971 independently by Alister Taylor - who was working for the publishing house that previously rejected it. The student activist soon became something of a political butterfly, running for both New Zealand First and the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party, and for mayoral, council or government roles in multiple locations. Richard King worked with Sir Tim as Invercargill council's chief executive for 20 years, but first knew him in those student days, having gone along to his rallies, saying they were "quite boisterous". He related a tale his friend told him from when he first moved from activist to politician, appearing in court on "various charges". "The judge looked up and said 'you again, Shadbolt', and he'd just been elected mayor of Waitematā, so the judge said 'I suppose I'm going to have to call you Your Worship now'. "Tim looked at him and said 'tell you what, I'll Honour you, and you can Worship me'. And the case didn't go that well for him." Having worked as a concrete contractor, in the '80s Shadbolt celebrated that first successful election by towing a concrete mixer behind his mayoral car in the annual Christmas parade. He later repeated the stunt as mayor of Invercargill, this time towing his mixer behind a mobile green couch for charity - and later swapped the mixer for electric scooters in the southern Christmas parade. But perhaps his most well remembered media appearance was in cheese ads in 1994, where an increasingly manic Sir Tim - then simply mayor Shadbolt - repeated back the line 'I don't mind where as long as I'm mayor' - a self-deprecating dig, perhaps, at his shift from Auckland to the less tropical climes of Invercargill. That kind of humour was a trademark of his - and was to his benefit on Dancing with the Stars in 2005, where he came third despite a couple of tumbles. "I might have had a little lie down and a cup of tea," he said of one of those falls. The man certainly had a way with words. At 30, he secured the Guinness world record for the longest political speech on a soapbox. Some 35 years later in 2012, he set another Guinness world record - for the longest TV interview by successfully reaching his goal of 26 hours on the regional TV freeview channel CUE, across from interviewer Tom Conroy. Topics covered included his cameo on The World's Fastest Indian and supposedly meeting Sir Anthony Hopkins' "leg double" and "big toe double", but after reaching 26 hours - about 2am - the mayor was cut off. Speaking to RNZ the next day - mere hours after also launching New Zealand's Got Talent he credited the Guinness official's advice with keeping his vocal chords up to scratch. "He said 'you've got to crush up fresh pineapple', he said 'that's the way, that'll get you through it', and it seemed to work, so that was a lucky break." The marathon chat in 2012 raised more than $10,000 for St John Ambulance - one of the mayor's many charitable efforts. But big personalities often clash, and Sir Tim also had his share of rivalries and public clashes. Despite occasional acrimony, he clearly wanted to continue championing hard workers, underdogs, and the South. As an example, criticising his own deputy mayor Neil Boniface in 2009 for a drink driving incident - and on the eve of a chilly trip to Norway - Sir Tim called Invercargill, by comparison, "a paradise, the mediterranean of the South Pacific". In 2021, he claimed his deputy Nobby Clark and chief executive Clare Hadley had refused for years to have the council pay for a smartphone worth more than $300 because he was "considered unable to fully use all the features". They appeared on paper to relent in 2020 with a $951.20 iPhone 8+ with accessories, but the mayor claimed he never received it - and the council refused to confirm or deny if it was delivered to him. The council also refused that year to pay for Shadbolt's annual mailout of Christmas cards on the ratepayer's dime -...

Remembering Sir Tim Shadbolt: Pineapple, cheese and jellybeans

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