{"id":444111,"date":"2026-05-25T08:28:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T08:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/444111\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T08:28:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T08:28:10","slug":"kawerau-farewells-former-mayor-malcolm-campbell-one-of-the-greats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/444111\/","title":{"rendered":"Kawerau farewells former mayor Malcolm Campbell, \u2018one of the greats\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cMany of Malcolm\u2019s colleagues remember his fighting spirit. Wherever he went, he\u2019d go in to bat for Kawerau, and watch out if anyone tried to talk down to our community. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe had a determined vision for the district to grow and thrive, evident with the multiple housing developments that council has progressed, including the Porritt Glade Lifestyle Village.<\/p>\n

\u201cMalcolm also had a gentle side, taking pride in his tenderness for his wife, his children, and his mokopuna – grandchildren.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said he had been proud of how council and staff served the Kawerau community.<\/p>\n

\" Former Kawerau Mayor Malcolm Campbell served on the Kawerau District Council for 27 years, and continued to be a fierce advocate for the district. Photo \/ LDR<\/p>\n

\u201cAs much as he would give his colleagues or apprentices a rev up, he was also known to quietly guide them, letting them know – through that cheeky smile – when he was proud of what they\u2019d done.\u201d <\/p>\n

For 47 years, Malcolm ran Campbell\u2019s Butchery, a family business started by an uncle in the 1950s. <\/p>\n

\u201cThrough his work, he knew hundreds if not thousands of locals by name,\u201d Tunui said. <\/p>\n

\u201cPeople knew they could call in to Campbell\u2019s Butchery for a good cut and a good yarn. Malcolm gave his time to everyone no matter who they were. He was always willing to assist, advocate or connect people to others who could help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campbell was elected to Kawerau District Council in 1995, serving 27 years, including one term as deputy mayor to the late Lyn Hartley, followed by seven terms as mayor.<\/p>\n

Campbell was in his second term as the Eastern Bay constituency regional councillor<\/a>, having been elected to the position on stepping down as Kawerau mayor in 2022.<\/p>\n

On being made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to local government and the community in 2023, he said he felt grateful to all those who had supported him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s quite humbling to be honest,\u201d he told Local Democracy Reporting at the time.<\/p>\n

During his time as mayor he drove efforts to improve the town\u2019s economic performance leaving behind him a district that punches well above its weight in industry.<\/p>\n

\"MalcolmMalcolm Campbell. Photo \/ Ben Fraser <\/p>\n

He led initiatives such as the Industrial Symbiosis Kawerau project and fostered collaboration between the council, industry, landowners and iwi.<\/p>\n

He served on an endless string of committees, both through his local government roles and through his involvement in jet boating, trail riding and his children\u2019s school and sporting activities.<\/p>\n

Bay of Plenty Regional Council chairwoman Matemoana McDonald described him as one of local government\u2019s \u201cgreat characters, a tireless advocate for his community and a man whose wisdom, pragmatism and compassion touched countless lives across the Eastern Bay of Plenty\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cMalcolm belonged to a generation of local government leaders who believed relationships mattered. He built strong connections across communities, iwi, business and Central Government, always with the goal of improving outcomes for the people of Kawerau and the wider Eastern Bay.<\/p>\n

\u201cMalcolm combined toughness with genuine care and empathy. He could be forthright and incredibly sharp, but underneath was a huge heart. Malcolm cared deeply about people. He was always there for those doing it tough and he never forgot where he came from or who he represented.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whakat\u0101ne Mayor Nandor Tanczos extended condolences to the family on behalf of Whakat\u0101ne district. <\/p>\n

He described Campbell\u2019s contribution to Kawerau as \u201cextraordinary\u201d and his commitment to local government, public service and community as \u201cremarkable\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat level of dedication spans generations and reflects both the trust placed in him by the people of Kawerau and the steadfast leadership he provided in return.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis legacy is one of persistence, practicality, and a connection to the people he served.\u201d<\/p>\n

A service will be held in the Kawerau Town Hall, on Wednesday at 11am followed by a private cremation.<\/p>\n

\u2013 LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cMany of Malcolm\u2019s colleagues remember his fighting spirit. Wherever he went, he\u2019d go in to bat for Kawerau,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":444112,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[15555,30640,2740,102275,42,4881,57638,10934,43,1118,5270,223,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-444111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-campbell","tag-farewells","tag-former","tag-greats","tag-headlines","tag-kawerau","tag-malcolm","tag-mayor","tag-news","tag-of","tag-one","tag-the","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=444111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/444112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=444111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=444111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=444111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}