Ernie Barry

Ernest Albert Barry (1928 − December 2003) was a New Zealand educator and politician. He was a Lower Hutt city councillor and was deputy mayor from 1977 to 1980.

Biography Early life and career Barry was born in London, England. Both his father and brother were Labour Party members and local government politicians, influencing his own political philosophy. After his education he trained as a plumber. He then emigrated to New Zealand as a "Ten Pound Pom" in 1950 aboard the Atlantis.

From 1971 to 1974 he was an elected member of the Hutt Valley Electric Power Board. He was also a member of the Wellington Regional Water Board and Hutt Valley Drainage Boards. He was, however, re-elected to the council where Labour won a majority. For that triennium he was deputy mayor after Labour won control of the council and also took all but one committee chairmanship. At the 1980 election he left local politics after he again lost the mayoralty to Kennedy-Good. The election was a landslide defeat for Labour and Barry, alongside all but one Labour candidate was defeated for the councillor seats.

Barry retired from teaching in 1989 and moved with his wife to live in Brisbane. He was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in September 2003. While in hospital under care he gave the hospital advice on how a nearby toilet cistern was leaking and occupied time calculating how much water was being lost. He died in December 2003.