TypeAgencyParallel NameJohnsonville Town BoardDate Range1908-1953DescriptionThe Town Boards Act of 1908 gave the Johnsonville Town Board the status of an independent Town District. In 1908 it became fully independent from Hutt County as the Johnsonville Independent Town Board, but the name, Johnsonville Town Board, continued to be used as the preferred name.
The new Independent Town Board effectively had the same functions and powers as a small borough. It attempted to improve Johnsonville by raising loans for public services until 1924. By 1912 it was one of the first townships of its size to have its own drainage, gas, and water supply systems for a population of less than 1,000 people.
The question of amalgamation with Wellington was first raised in 1910 but it wasn’t until 1918 that the Board made an official - though unsatisfactory - approach to the Wellington City Council. The financial pressure of administering a fast-expanding population encouraged the Town Board to pursue amalgamation with the capital. Autonomy was fast becoming unrealistic with the wave of suburban growth around the country. In 1937 the Town Board again approached Wellington City Council and forwarded particulars of their affairs. On July 1, 1941 a conference took place between representatives of the two authorities. The Johnsonville Town Board was advised by the Wellington City Council to consider the question of amalgamation again when a major water supply scheme had been developed in Johnsonville (water, along with drainage, was the stumbling block for Johnsonville’s amalgamation hopes). Amalgamation with Wellington took a further step forward in 1952 when the Local Bodies Commission recommended that the Town Board’s area and parts of Makara County including Newlands and Paparangi be amalgamated with Wellington City.
The last meeting of the Johnsonville Town Board was held on the 19th of March 1953. Those present were Messrs L C Monteith (chairman), J M Hickey, D S Arbuckle, P Feeney, G Broad and E E Hughes. Mr J W Laird (Town Clerk) and Mr W J Oliver (works supervisor) were also present. By the time of amalgamation Johnsonville was the largest Town Board District in New Zealand in population and could have qualified for borough status. On the 1st April 1953 amalgamation occurred and the Town Board Office was closed (although there was a proposal to keep it open for the collection of rates and issuing of licences etc). One of the commissioners of the Town Board, chosen by the board, became a Councillor of the City of Wellington for the period until the next Wellington City Council elections were held.
