Third Labour Government to a post with the Local Government Commission. The posting was short-lived however as the incoming Third National Government were to abolish the commission after winning power later that year. Following the commission's end he opened a cycle shop in Wellington. In 1977 he sought the Labour nomination for two Christchurch electorates. The first was the seat, but lost to Ann Hercus, soon after in the electorate, but was again beaten this time by former MP Mike Moore. In the , he stood in the electorate but lost against Ken Comber. Soon afterwards he stood for the Labour candidacy for the seat in a 1979 by-election, but was again unsuccessful. A year later he stood for the Wellington City Council at the 1980 local elections and narrowly missed out on election. At the 1983 local elections he was a Labour candidate for the Wellington Harbour Board. Standing in the Lower Hutt constituency, he was unsuccessful. At both the 1983 and 1986 local elections he stood as a Labour candidate for a seat on the Lower Hutt City Council but was unsuccessful. Later life and death Pickering died on 25 June 1988 and is buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in Christchurch. His wife, who subsequently remarried, died in 2017. Awards and commemoration In the 1985 New Year Honours, Pickering was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, for services to local government. Pickering Courts, a council housing project in St Albans designed for the elderly containing 25 units built in 1978 was named in his honour. At his death both his successor as mayor Sir Hamish Hay and the chairman of the organising committee for the 1974 games Sir Ron Scott described Queen Elizabeth II Park as a memorial to Pickering and his vision. References External links |- 1923 births 1988 deaths Burials at Memorial Park Cemetery, Christchurch Mayors of Christchurch New Zealand Labour Party MPs New Zealand MPs for Christchurch electorates New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Unsuccessful candidates in the 1949 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1951 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1954 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1960 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1978 New Zealand general election Lyttelton Harbour Board members 20th-century New Zealand politicians New Zealand