Mandy Mayhem | |
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 Mayhem in 2019 | |
| Born | Amanda Morrison November [1] 1972 (age 52–53) Dunedin, New Zealand |
| Occupations |
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| Spouse | Lee Bullock (m. 2016) |
| Children |
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Amanda Morrison [2] (born 1972) [3] better known as Mandy Mayhem and at times Mandy Mayhem-Bullock, [note 1] is a local politician, celebrant, performer, [4] circus ringmaster, [5] newspaper deliverer, [6] and artist based in Waitati and Dunedin, in New Zealand.
Mayhem was born in November [1] 1972 [3] and raised in Dunedin. Mayhem was 5 years old when her mother moved her family to a 10-hectare property on a hill above a small township. By that time, the cluster of holiday homes had become affordable. She was a participant in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study; its only subjectto become a ringmaster. [6]
Mayhem was educated at Waitati School [7] and Otago Girls' High School. [3] She unofficially went to Logan Park High School, by pretending to be a foreign exchange student at the school. [1]
Mayhem moved to Wellington to complete a degree in women's studies at Victoria University of Wellington, while working as "Slaphappy the clown". [6]
Mandy married Lee Bullock [1] in 2016, and has three children, Rose, Max, [8] and Vita. [7] Mayhem earlier donated egg cells, contributing to a friend's births of two other children. [3]
The Mayhem-Bullock family lost a pet horse following a violent criminal attack on the animal in 2019. [9]
Mayhem runs a monthly community market in Waitati. [10] She is the commander of the pacifist combat arm of the Waitati militia, a satirical "pacifist warfare" group formed over 50 years ago in protest against the Vietnam war. [11] Mayhem is involved with the Coastal Communities Cycleway Connection, is chair of Keep Dunedin Beautiful and a local emergency response co-ordinator. [12]
Mayhem worked in Wellington as a clown, then worked for five years with Ridgway Circus, where "Mayhem" was her stage name. [3] She has a third-dan black belt in taekwondo, and considered representing New Zealand in what was then a demonstration sport at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. [1]
More recently, Mayhem wrote, directed and performed in a circus rock opera, The Carnival Ain't Over, for the 2021 Dunedin Fringe Festival, [13] and has been organising the annual Wuthering Heights dance-along in the Octagon since 2019. [14]
Mayhem spent six years as a member of the Dunedin City Council's Waikouaiti-Coast Community Board [15] and was elected to the council in October 2022. [16] As of 2025 [update] she is deputy chair of the city council's community services committee. [15]
She is the unofficial mayor of Waitati, [17] a small coastal settlement within Dunedin city.
Mayhem announced in May 2025 that she would stand as a candidate for Mayor of Dunedin and for city councillor in the 2025 Dunedin City Council election. [18]
Mayhem's 2022 election campaign cited accessibility, sustainability and wellbeing as political priorities. [19]
In a 2023 interview, Mayhem said “I know what it is to be a solo mother. I know what it is to be forced to take budgeting advice at the foodbank," claiming that "older, white men – business people" on the council lack the same lived experience as her. [6]