Newspaper Article 1994 – Ex councillor worked hard for HB Children

Ex councillor worked hard for HB Children

A former Napier City councillor and 1965 mayoral candidate Reginald Baxter died on Wednesday. He was aged 80.

Mr Baxter’s wife Muriel, who he met in Napier and married at Ekatahuna [Eketahuna] in 1949, described him as a family man who loved children and although they never had any of their own, the couple had many “borrowed” off-spring, she said.

From 1965 to 1970 they ran France House, a boys’ home in Eskdale set up by the Hawke’s Bay Children’s Trust Fund, and came to regard many of the children they met there as their own.

Born in London, Mr Baxter came to New Zealand via Australia when he was five. His family settled in Wellington where he was educated and he moved to Hawke’s Bay in 1947.

The early part of Mr Baxter’s working life was spent running a flag and poster business, and he and his wife fitted out Emerson Street with flags for Queen Elizabeth II’s visit in 1953.

In line with their love of children they later owned a Dickens Street shop and sold toys and baby supplies for 20 years.

Mr Baxter was a man with strong values and fought for what he believed in, Mrs Baxter said. During his three-year term on the city council, from 1962 to 1965, he opposed the introduction of parking meters in Napier’s central business district.

He also had a passion for music, owning an extensive record collection and playing the organ, piano and piano accordian [accordion].