Getting to know Ian Lawrence

The former mayor of Wellington, New Zealand, is a now a Jerusalem resident.

By DAVID GEFFEN
A portrait of Ian Lawrence in official robes of office, hanging in Wellington City Hall... (photo credit: Courtesy)
A portrait of Ian Lawrence in official robes of office, hanging in Wellington City Hall...
(photo credit: Courtesy)
‘When I walk down a Jerusalem street, I feel the excitement of a total Jewish atmosphere,” says Ian Lawrence.
“I gaze at the remarkable Jerusalem stone and I am deeply moved by the impact it makes upon me.”
Lawrence, the mayor of Wellington, New Zealand from 1983 to 1986, is speaking to this writer in his apartment in the Bayit Belev assisted living facility where we both live, near Sacher Park, where he strolls on a regular basis. A humble person, you would never know the impact he made on Wellington. More about his career will come a bit later.
Lawrence in Jerusalem, holding up the medal he received as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Lawrence in Jerusalem, holding up the medal he received as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
“My father’s ancestors were driven out of Spain in the 15th century,” he recounts. “Miraculously they survived the journey through Holland, Belgium, England and then landed in Australia in the 1830s. My maternal grandparents settled in New Zealand in 1897, coming from Russia.
“Incredibly, I, their descendant, am living in eternal Jerusalem, which is the center of our people. How fortunate that my children who live here and my grandchildren will bear the banner of their forefathers for all time to come. What an emotional surge my city gives me on a daily basis.”
Most of us tend to forget that Australia, where Lawrence was born in 1937, was a target for the Japanese in World War II. “A Japanese submarine sailed into the harbor of Sydney; the northern territories of our country, Darwin, in particular, were bombed. As youngsters we felt the war in our own way.”
At the school Lawrence attended in Sydney, students were instructed by the teachers to go under the tables when they were warned an attack might be imminent.
“In our home the windows had white tape crisscrossed on the glass to prevent shattering in case of an explosion. Every night for months there was a total blackout; our windows were covered completely with sheets and the only light we had was from candles.”
Lawrence had an even more personal connection with the conflict. His father, Alan, was in the home guard. Frequently, he would leave home for a few days – sometimes more than a week – to perform the duties required by the Australian military command.
“I do recall Australian Jews actually leaving for the front lines. Australian Jewry has had deep military roots since General Sir John Monash commanded the Australian troops in World War I. There are many monuments to him and a university in Melbourne is named after him.”
Lawrence has a wonderful memory. He recalls that on V-E Day and V-J Day, both in 1945, the teachers excitedly released them from school. “On the grassy lawn behind our home, my schoolmates and I ate the sandwiches we had taken to school.
Eating there, we could see the chicken run that we had – many Australians had them in the 1940s for fresh eggs and fresh chickens.”
Lawrence and his classmates heard about the atomic bombs and the destruction they wrought. After the war, he even boarded an aircraft carrier in the Sydney harbor. Ships like these were in the waters of the city constantly during the war and Lawrence and his friends looked at them in awe. Being on one was “unforgettable.”
As the Jewish refugees arrived in Australia, he began to learn about the tragic Holocaust decimating a third of the Jewish people.
“We lived in the northern sector of Sydney, where there were few Jews and no synagogue. Across the bridge, in the eastern suburbs of the city was where most of the Jews resided and where religious institutions were located. My first Hebrew lessons were at a liberal temple in the eastern suburbs and then later at a Jewish group in our neighborhood.”
I ask Lawrence about Rosh Hashana back then. “After a few years a house had been purchased by our budding Jewish community and turned into a synagogue.
However, for the high holidays, we had to rent the ‘Kings Picture Theater.’ There I heard the shofar blown for the first time. What a thrill it was.”
He had his bar mitzva on January 6, 1951, at the Masonic Hall because there were so many friends and family invited. “[A refugee in the community] who taught us and was beloved prepared me for the ceremony. I read the maftir aliya from my Torah portion, Vaera. That really set me on a path to become a dedicated Jew.”
Because Judaism means so much to him, he never in his public career attended official functions on Friday nights.
Lawrence states his philosophy of life clearly: “Those people who have the innate good fortune to learn should attempt to use the abilities they possess to make society better.”
Trained as a lawyer and a great lover of the arts, Lawrence was a noted figure in the Wellington community where he moved when he was 20. He reminisces about his political career.
“Since I was always interested in the community and people, I offered to help the Wellington Citizen’s Association in 1971 and very quickly I found myself a candidate for the next election. I barely won a seat on the city council but quickly immersed myself in the local political scene. In 1974, I was reelected and appointed deputy mayor and chairman of the town planning committee. In 1977 and 1980, I was re-appointed deputy mayor. Then in the 1983 I was elected mayor and served until 1986.”
Lawrence (center, in robes and plume) reviews military personnel in 1986, as part of a parade and welcome to the city of Wellington of the Destroyer ‘HMNZS (photo credit: WELLINGTON CITY COUNCIL/KNOX)
Lawrence (center, in robes and plume) reviews military personnel in 1986, as part of a parade and welcome to the city of Wellington of the Destroyer ‘HMNZS (photo credit: WELLINGTON CITY COUNCIL/KNOX)
His mayoral career had many facets to it, but one of the best-known projects he championed was the New Zealand Arts Festival, which celebrated its 30th anniversary earlier this year. “I was passionate about wanting people in New Zealand and especially Wellington to have the chance to see and hear artists of an international reputation and broaden their own lives in that way.”
When living in Sydney in his youth, he saw Louis Armstrong and Billy Daniels perform, among others.
In 1969, traveling the world on a 10-week trip, he and his wife saw famed violinist Itzhak Perlman perform in Caesarea; they went to musical events in many countries of the world. The grandparents cared for their small children during their absence.
“That experience grew in me over the years, and I wanted my fellow countrymen to be exposed musically and artistically in ways they had never experienced. In 1986 as mayor I transformed that dream into reality.”
A committed Jew, Lawrence recognizes the importance of solid Jewish education and the centrality of Israel. He was a leader in the New Zealand Jewish community via his many contributions. He mobilized the local population in ways that had not previously been conceived. Four of his five children went on the Bnei Akiva yearlong hachshara (preparatory training toward aliya) in Israel.
It was very moving to hear him list the noted Israelis he has known personally through the years.
“In 1969 I attended the inaugural conference of the International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists, my first visit to Israel during which I met prime minister Golda Meir and Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek.” Lawrence noted how he was moved by the brilliant oratory of foreign minister Abba Eban. “I also met Pinchas Sapir, a noted Israeli finance minister, and prime minister Yitzhak Shamir when he came to New Zealand for a visit. Now I have the privilege of living in Israel myself.”
Lawrence’s achievements have been acknowledged by some important figures. In 1977 he received the Queen Elizabeth jubilee medal. In 1992, on the Queen’s New Years Honors list he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for services to local government and the community.
When one thinks about communities around the world where Jews live on this Rosh Hashana in 2016, it is significant to realize that a most committed leader of the Wellington general and Jewish community now lives in Jerusalem with two of his five children and his grandchildren. His lessons in leadership are ones that should be taught to our budding leaders here in Israel.
Lawrence’s daugher Sarah with her husband, Noach Kurtz, and their children in Jerusalem (photo credit: Courtesy)
Lawrence’s daugher Sarah with her husband, Noach Kurtz, and their children in Jerusalem (photo credit: Courtesy)
Lawrence not only has vision, he has used that vision wisely and concretely. His words of wisdom for the New Year are: “Always remember that whatever befalls you, others have had their own experience, too. Never give up or feel sorry for yourself; as our tradition says – chazak ve’amatz, be strong and of good courage.”
He puts this into practice, noting: “Sadly, my wife Sandra has been in hospital care for more than eight years and no longer recognizes me due to Alzheimer’s illness. She cannot speak, nor walk unaided. I, myself, was seriously ill and these changes made me think about the future. I have two children as well as nine grandchildren in Israel.”
Having made aliya three years ago, Lawrence relates, “I see the move to Israel as a second chance.”