Christine McElwee

Christine Clare McElwee (formerly La Varis, ; 22 July 1946 – 25 June 2022) was a New Zealand local politician, historian, author and teacher. She served as a member of the Taupō District Council from 1995 to 2010, including six years as deputy mayor.

Early life and family McElwee was born on 22 July 1946 in Whanganui. She attended Whanganui Girls' College, where she was head girl. She studied geography at Victoria University of Wellington, where she completed a teaching diploma, and subsequently worked as a high school teacher in Wellington and London.

McElwee made contributions to Taupō local history. She lived in Acacia Bay for nearly 50 years and was a member of the Acacia Bay Residents Association. She coordinated the Acacia Bay History Project, initiated in 2011. In 2013, she wrote Tribute to Western Bay, Lake Taupō (illustrated by John Parsons). The book described the Western Bay of Lake Taupō, including the development of the Kinloch settlement by former prime minister Keith Holyoake. In 2018, she helped ensure that an 1889 painting of Lake Taupō by Charles Decimus Barraud, up for auction in Auckland, was purchased by the Taupō Museum.

McElwee died at her home in Taupō on 25 June 2022.

Selected works Ngā Marae o Ngāti Tūwharetoa (1992, with Val Raymond) Tribute to Western Bay, Lake Taupō (2013, with John Parsons) Winning Against the Odds: the Taupō Racing Club's first fifty years, 1965-2015 (2015)