Abraham Wachner

Abraham Wachner OBE 

Abraham (Abie) Wachner OBE:  Mayor 1942-1950 Mayor of Invercargill 1944-1950

by Vivienne Allan

Abie Wachner was Invercargill’s 35th mayor and a man with a great social conscience.   He was born in London in 1892 and emigrated to Australia with his parents when he was three months old. The family came to New Zealand when he was 15.  When war broke out, he enlisted with the New Zealand army and was injured at Gallipoli.  Shipped home, he moved to Greymouth on the West Coast where he met his future wife Mabel (May) Rice.  

Determined to make a life for himself, he moved to Invercargill in 1919 while continuing a correspondence with May until they married in Wellington.   Abie was always interested in local politics and although he established a very successful shoe business in Invercargill, he put his name forward for the Invercargill City Council in 1938 and spent his first term getting to know the system.  He topped the poll at his second election and became deputy mayor in 1941.  It was a brief stint however, because when the incumbent mayor J.R. Martin resigned due to ill health, Abie became the mayor and was re-elected again in 1944 and 1947.  May was a keenly supportive wife taking on the job of mayoress which was seen as an essential role at the time.  

Abie was always concerned for people’s wellbeing especially returned service men and women and was renowned for his philanthropy.  His legacy was the development of Oreti as a playground for people and for securing the first air services to and from the city.  He loved Invercargill which he called his ‘Auckland of the South’.  When he died in August 1950, May continued her involvement in the city’s affairs and provided the funds for Wachner Place in Dee Street to commemorate her husband’s commitment to the city.

Notes from:

‘Centenary of Invercargill Municipality 1871-1971’                                                                                    

‘Southern People: A Dictionary of Otago Southland Biography’  

Abraham Wachner, OBE  (1892 - 1950)  3/181 - Gallipoli

Invercargill Councillor 1938-1941 

Invercargill Mayor 1942-1950