Family, friends and former city leaders are mourning the passing of former Tauranga City councillor Bill Faulkner who unexpectedly died at home on Monday, August 7, age 76.

William Ross Faulkner, known as Bill, was born on October 17, 1946, and brought up by his parents, Ross and Thora Faulkner on Matakana Island.

“This was where he learned to drive, in a wartime Jeep, and where his love of sailing and boating began,” says his sister Andi Faulkner.

His first job was at the Union Steamship Company in Devonport Road. He got married soon after to Barbara, and moved to Brisbane for the year. On their return to Tauranga, sons Mark and Brendan were born and his family say his devotion to sailing became clear.

Council years

A remarkable individual, Bill’s achievements and lasting impact on Tauranga serve as a testament to his unwavering and tireless commitment to the community.

He became interested in local body politics through ‘Fair Go for Ratepayers’ which he started back in the early 1980s. This led to his lifelong commitment to user pay policies and advocating for the rate payers through his council work.

“’Fair Go for Ratepayers’ was a very successful coup d'état because he brought a whole lot of likeminded councillors onto the council,” says long- time friend and fellow former city councillor Ross Harris.

“At the time, council had lost its way and was not concentrating on its core values which Bill understood. Bill subsequently with some of his likeminded councillors became part of a self-styled ‘A Team’ which greatly influenced the council to get back to its knitting.

“At the time, councillors were not paid and Bill spent a couple of decades doing good things for the city.

“He rose to the ranks of being the deputy chair of the committee that spent over 80 per cent of council’s budget and along with the A Team was able to keep the council on the straight and narrow.”

Former city councillor Larry Baldock worked with Bill in the early 1970s on starting work at NZ Insurance in Spring Street.

“Then we were colleagues again on the council when I was elected in 2001 and 2010. Bill has to be remembered as a hardworking and tireless advocate for ratepayers throughout his years serving the city.

“I worked with him when he initiated the Marine Precinct project a decade ago and there is no doubt that asset in the city would not be here today without Bill’s vision for it.”

Understanding of city infrastructure

Former Tauranga city mayor Stuart Crosby says Bill had a strong understanding of the need to provide good infrastructure to a growing city, as well as trying to balance that with affordability of people to pay rates as well.

“He had a passion for community, affordability and infrastructure,” says Stuart, who got to know Bill after being elected onto the Tauranga District Council as it was called back in 1989.

“Bill was absolutely committed to the community in terms of his role on council and he had a strong focus on providing high quality infrastructure for the city.

“Bear in mind we had also joined up with Mount Maunganui, Papamoa and Bethlehem. Bill was on the old Tauranga City Council before it amalgamated in 1989 to become the Tauranga District Council and his main area of expertise was in roading.”

Ross says Bill was a significant contributor to the construction of what was then the Waikareao Expressway.

“He was supportive of purchasing land for reserves and other projects,” says former mayor Greg Brownless.

“Along with other councillors Bill was involved in buying the K Valley land which permitted a bypass of Cameron Rd and Waihi Rd and the route alongside the Waikareao estuary. He was right behind the purchase of Smith’s Farm and Parau Farms as valuable green space for future generations.

“Not in favour of growth for growth’s sake, Bill put current residents first and twenty years or more ago suggested putting ‘Sorry – Full’ signs at the top of the top of the Kaimais.”

Tauranga water, best in the country

“Bill and fellow councillor Gordon Taylor were instrumental in completely revising water processing and distribution throughout the city,” says Ross.

“As a result Tauranga City had a world-best microfiltration plant which was the envy of most councils in New Zealand.”

“One thing the city can be immensely grateful for is Bill led the charge on good quality drinking water,” says Stuart.

“Bill’s legacy to Tauranga is our water supply,” says former city councillor Mary Dillon.

“The fact that we have good water supply is Bill’s insistence on that and finding out if microfiltration would work. We were the first council to have a microfilter water supply and Bill did the donkey work and paid the price for it as he got kicked off council because of water meters. His legacy to Tauranga is not only we have A+ water supply but ours exceeds the highest rating.”

“Bill was the driving force behind microfiltration of the Tauranga water supply,” says former Tauranga City Mayor Greg Brownless.

“It was quite ahead of its time and resulted in a city with very likely the best water treatment system in NZ. He loved getting his teeth into practical projects that were supported by the evidence. As a result he was also heavily involved in planning for Tauranga’s sewerage system upgrades.

Bill loved being on the water.

Robust debates

Ross Harris has known Bill for over 40 years, with both becoming Tauranga City Councillors at around the same time in the 1980s.

“Bill steadfastly stuck to his principles and in the face of opposition from within council was largely successful in most of his endeavours. He wasn’t there to make friends, he was there to do a job. And he not only did that job but he did it very well.”

Stuart says Bill had a strong focus on rates and affordability.

“There were numerous debates around the council table on Bill’s view on that, and it was all around people’s ability to pay rates,” says Stuart.

“You never left the conversation without having absolute clarity about what Bill thought of the issue. He could win an argument with grace and lose an argument with grace as well. You have to be able to do that to survive in the world of politics.

“We had robust arguments about the issue but we all always thoroughly enjoyed his company. One of his admirable traits was you could have a robust debate in the council chamber and leave that behind and go sailing with the man.”

“With a strong sense of justice and what was right, Bill Faulkner was a talented councillor and a supportive friend,” says Greg.

“He is going to be sorely missed,” says former city councillor Murray Guy. “I was on council 12 years with Bill and while we didn’t all sing from the same song sheet he was a very good part of that group of councillors.”

Ross Harris say on occasions Bill could be divisive “but he always stuck to his guns and his principles, and he always had the common good in his mind whether that was divisive or not”.

“In a council situation, when councillors speak, there’s generally three or four who loudly debate issues. The rest tend to vote according to the strength of the debate and follow the leaders and Bill was in anyone’s language a leader,” says Ross.

Steve Morris who came onto Tauranga City Council in 2013, the same year that Bill ended his last term on council also got to know him.

“He was indefatigable. He was the ratepayers’ friend – that was his political persuasion. He was quite generous with his time after council, and certainly someone who was very much on the side of the ratepayers.”

“Though we at times disagreed on some things Bill was someone you could get on with who you had to respect for his convictions and service to the city,” says Larry Baldock.

Former councillor John Robson was talking on the phone with Bill only hours before he died.

“We talked about Greg Brownless being overseas, and about Des Ferrow’s passing and how sad that was - Des was such a good straight bloke. Bill talked about sailing and what’s happening in the city.

“Tauranga is a poorer place. You don’t agree with people on everything but you enjoy when you know where someone stands.

“He was straight, staunch, always stands by his friend. He had courage of conviction and I think people don’t realise how important that is. It cost him a seat, but he was staunch on water meters for Tauranga. If he thought something was the right thing to do, you could trust him to stand by what he said. People whose word means something especially in this day and age of politics dominating so much of our lives.

“We were literally laughing and the last thing I said to Bill on the phone was ‘when Greg gets back we should catch up for lunch’. It was a really good pleasant Bill Faulkner phone call.”

Faulkner’s Corner

The Weekend Sun has never been shy of an opinion with strong ‘Letters to the Editor’ pages and robust viewpoints and humour from regular and guest columnists.

Bill Faulkner was a Tauranga City councillor who wrote a no-holds-barred column from soon after the paper’s inception in 2000 through until 2012.

He regularly aired his opinions on council business, much to the dislike of some other elected members. His only rule was ‘don’t edit my columns’.

“The other councillors hated it so they tried to shut me down. They talked about collective responsibility,” Bill said at the time.

Bill Faulkner, Wayne Moultrie and Murray Guy visiting the Rena in December 2011. Photo: Supplied.

He said it was okay to oppose something leading up to a decision but the protocol was that once the council had made its decision everyone had to toe the line.

“I wasn’t having a bar of that.”

Sun Media owner Claire Rogers says Bill’s columns were a huge part of The Weekend Sun.

“Bill came in every week and debated with Brian [Rogers]. Julie Commerer our receptionist had a great relationship with him having to decipher his handwriting every week to type up his columns.”

Ross says Bill’s “whole family were proud that he was out there on his white horse flag waving in an intelligent way through The Weekend Sun”.

“He spent many years providing an insight into council through The Weekend Sun which was avidly read by especially the elderly. He had very firm views on many, many things and he was a master at getting political support to ensure that he achieved what had to be done.

Love of sailing

“Bill’s lifelong love was the sea and he was a significant player in local competitions. Most people sailing out of Tauranga will know and respect Bill for his ability,” says Ross Harris.

Bill continued to be a competitive and winning skipper to the end, with the final race of the Tauranga harbour winter series, which he had been leading on board his yacht ‘No Regrets’, due to take place this Sunday.

Crew member and friend Kent Jarman says he and most of the crew, made up of Wendy Oldham, Wayne Spear, and Tom Maidment, along with others, will take Bill’s boat out on Sunday for the last round of the winter sailing. Sunday's crew will include Bill's son Mark, who also sailed with him regularly.

Wayne Spear, BIll Faulkner at helm, and Kent Jarman on board ‘No Regrets’. Photo: Supplied.

“We’re all a bit shocked [at Bill’s death]. It was so sudden and not expected at all,” says Kent.

“It’s appropriate and fitting to take ‘No Regrets’ out one more time as a crew and remember Bill.”

Kent has been sailing with Bill for about 25 years.

“Knew him as a teenager when we sailed out of the old yacht club where the Harbourside is now.

“We raced centre boards back then with dinghy sailing. We used to sail Z class - a two-man boat, then Bill graduated to 12-footers and raced in Sydney and Auckland quite a bit. He eventually got into keel boats about 1986.”

Kent says they’ve all done a lot of sea miles with Bill, with a lot of sailing knowledge on board.

“Bill said he knew Tauranga harbour like the back of his hand but then showed us his palm – a standing joke - but he did know it probably better than most,” says Kent.

“You always knew where you stood with Bill. He spoke his mind. Sometimes that ruffled feathers but pretty much he was on the money. I found him a very caring person, a very fine human being and a good sailor.”

Peter Harford who has a yacht berthed at the same pier as Bill’s and Greg’s yachts, says his last conversation with Bill on his boat on Sunday morning was full of the usual banter about sailing.

“It’s really knocked the stuffing out of me. He told us a joke but couldn’t remember the punchline, said he had it written down at home and would tell us the rest of the joke next time. He called me the Rev or Bishop because I used to have a group on board who met for coffee, and on Sunday when he arrived, he joked saying we were meeting for Bible study.

“We used to chew the fat together. I’m going to miss the camaraderie and throwing the sh** at each other.  He was one of Tauranga’s good bastards and did a hell of a lot for Tauranga and never expected anything in return. People don’t know how much he did for this council.”

Ross who was due to play golf with Bill on Monday, the day he died, says Bill also played golf annually with a group of people in Australia and was well-respected as a golfer.

“He will be sadly missed by many who knew him,” says Ross.

Family man

“Above all Bill was dedicated to his wife Barbara and family,” says Greg. “He spoke frequently of them. I shall miss him and his considered thoughts on the state of Tauranga and the nation.”

Bill was also incredibly proud of his two sons Mark and Brendan.
“He was fantastic grandfather, just lovely with his grandchildren,” says Mary.

“Bill was very much a family man, and was very supportive of his grandchildren and incredibly proud of their success,” says Ross.

Bill is survived by his wife Barbara, two sons Mark and Brendan and their partners Rochelle and Laura, sisters Andi and Cathy, and four grandchildren. He will be sadly missed and always remembered by his extended loving family.

A memorial service for Bill will be held at The Tauranga Yacht and Power Boat Club, 90 Keith Allen Drive, Sulphur Point, Tauranga on Monday August 14 at 1pm.