Chris Parkin | |
|---|---|
 Parkin in 2011 | |
| Born | Christopher Wilton Parkin 1948 (age 73–74) |
Christopher Wilton Parkin CNZM (born 1948) is a New Zealand businessman, art collector and philanthropist.
Chris Parkin | |
|---|---|
| Parkin in 2011 | |
| Born | Christopher Wilton Parkin 1948 (age 73–74) |
Christopher Wilton Parkin CNZM (born 1948) is a New Zealand businessman, art collector and philanthropist.
Parkin was born in Doncaster, England in 1948 and emigrated to New Zealand with his family in 1952. [1] He grew up in Waikanae and Ōtaki and attended Otaki College, graduating in 1966. [1] He studied geochemistry and business at Victoria University of Wellington, graduating with a Master's degree with Honours and a Bachelor of Commerce. [1]
Parkin bought his first property for $12,500 at age 23, while still a student. He sold it for $30,000 a few years later. [2] [3]
After graduating from university Parkin found work with a manufacturing business. [3] Two years later he moved to Development Finance Corporation as a financial analyst, and later convinced his employer to open an office in San Francisco. [3]
In 1979 Parkin and his second wife moved to California for his work as a business analyst. [2] Parkin spent four years in the US marketing New Zealand's export tax incentives to US businesses. [3] He returned from the US to Wellington in 1983 and invested in more property – blocks of apartments which he renovated and sold. [2] [3]
Parkin took over management of the Museum Hotel in October 1990 and bought the building from the Government in 1992. [4] In 1993 he moved the hotel on rails to a new location in Cable Street. [4] Parkin sold the hotel in 2015. [5]
Parkin had left-wing views when he started university, but after studying economics his views moved further right and he ended up as branch chairman for the ACT party in 1994. [2] [3] Parkin stated in 2020 that he was a socialist until he understood more about human nature. "You realise the futility of any political system that depends totally for its success on the goodwill of people towards others. It's human nature that stops socialism from ever succeeding. It doesn't have a chance." [2]
Parkin was a Wellington city councillor for the Lambton Ward from 1995 to 2004, when he chose to stand down. [1] [6]
Parkin has been a board member of The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and served in several charitable and public organisations including the St James Theatre Trust, Wellington Venues Ltd, the New Zealand Affordable Arts Trust and the Hannah Playhouse Trust. [7]
In 2001 Parkin helped set up a scholarship to Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School. [8] This was awarded annually until 2014, and covered a year's tuition fees plus a monthly allowance. [9] [10]
In 2005 Parkin gave $100,000 to the Wellington Sculpture Trust for a sculpture to be placed outside his Museum Hotel. [11] The sculpture, Per Capita, was installed in December 2006. [12]
In 2012 Parkin founded the Parkin Drawing Prize in association with the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts. [13] This national art competition is open to New Zealand citizens and permanent residents. The winner of the Parkin Drawing Prize receives $25,000, increased from $20,000 when the Prize was first awarded in 2013. [14] [13]
In 2019 Parkin gave $120,000 to Boosted, a crowdfunding platform for artists, to build a better site. [15]
Also in 2019, Parkin donated $1 million towards a planned national music centre in Wellington's Civic Square. The donation included $250,000 for an artwork to be commissioned for the space. [2] [16]
Parkin was named 'Wellingtonian of the Year' in 1993 for his efforts to shift the Museum Hotel to a new location. [7]
In 1995 Parkin was given an Award for Distinguished Service by Victoria University, for "outstanding contribution to the advancement of Victoria University of Wellington". [17]
In the 2011 Queen's Birthday honours list, Parkin was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business and the arts. [10] [18]
Parkin has been married three times and has two children with his second wife. [2]
J.H. Whittaker & Sons, Ltd (Whittaker's) is a confectionery manufacturer specialising in palm oil-free chocolate and based in Porirua, New Zealand. Whittaker's is the largest chocolate brand in New Zealand, Approximately 30% of their production is now exported. The company controls its entire manufacturing process in its facility in Porirua, calling itself a "bean-to-bar" manufacturer. James Henry Whittaker started the business in Christchurch in 1896 and it was later moved to Wellington.
Lambton Quay is the heart of the central business district of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand.
Te Aro is an inner-city suburb of Wellington, New Zealand. It comprises the southern part of the central business district including the majority of the city's entertainment district and covers the mostly flat area of city between The Terrace and Cambridge Terrace at the base of Mount Victoria.
Wellington City Libraries is the public library service for Wellington, New Zealand.
Feltex Carpets is a manufacturer of residential and commercial carpets.
Frank Kitts Park is a public park situated between Jervois Quay and the Lambton Harbour waterfront in Wellington, New Zealand. It is named after Sir Frank Kitts, New Zealand politician and mayor of Wellington.
Hamilton Central is the central business district of Hamilton, New Zealand. It is located on the western banks of the Waikato River.
New Zealand Opera is New Zealand's only full-time professional opera company, formed in 2000 from the merger of companies in Auckland and Wellington. New Zealand Opera is headquartered in Parnell, Auckland, stages several productions a year, runs educational programmes, and supports early-career opera singers with the Dame Malvina Major Foundation.
The QT Wellington Hotel is located in Wellington, New Zealand. It is one of the largest buildings to have been moved from one site to another.
Donna Tusiata Avia is a New Zealand poet and children's author.
Eleanor Catton is a New Zealand novelist and screenwriter. Born in Canada, Catton moved to New Zealand as a child and grew up in Christchurch. She completed a Master's degree in creative writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters. Her award-winning debut novel, The Rehearsal, written as her Master's thesis, was published in 2008, and has been adapted into a 2016 film of the same name. Her second novel, The Luminaries, won the 2013 Man Booker Prize, making Catton the youngest author ever to win the prize and only the second New Zealander. It was subsequently adapted into a television miniseries, with Catton as screenwriter.
The Old Bank Arcade is a retail and office complex on a corner site at Lambton Quay, Wellington, New Zealand.
Roseneath is a suburb of Wellington, New Zealand, located east of Oriental Bay and north of Hataitai. The peninsula was named after Rosneath, a village on the Rosneath peninsula on Scotland's River Clyde, and has no association with roses.
Dr Henry Pollen's House is a historic building in Wellington, New Zealand. The house was built in 1902 for Dr Henry Pollen as a residence and surgery. It was designed by William Turnbull. It was originally located at 12 Boulcott Street but was moved by crane to the corner of Boulcott Street and Willis Street in 1988 to make room for the Majestic Centre. The building was also reoriented by about 90 degrees to fit on its new site.
Susan Diana Price is a New Zealand writer, historian, researcher, philanthropist and expert on and collector of children’s books. She lives in Wellington.
Monty Glyn Soutar is a New Zealand historian and author who is affiliated with the Māori tribes of Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki and Ngāti Kahungunu.
Rodger Denis Fox is a New Zealand trombonist, jazz educator, recording artist and leader of the Rodger Fox Big Band. He founded his jazz band in 1973 and has toured extensively in New Zealand and overseas, playing at international jazz festivals including Montreux and Monterey. He is a jazz educator and teaches at the New Zealand School of Music at Victoria University of Wellington.
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