Richard William McVilly (1862 – 6 April 1949) was the General Manager of New Zealand Railways from 1919 to 1924.[1]
Born in Otago and educated in Dunedin and Invercargill, he joined the railways department in 1879.
He was a lawyer and acted in court for the railways department, e.g. in 1909 before the North Island Railway Appeal Board.[2]
During World War I his predecessor E. H. Hiley was serving in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, so McVilly was acting General Manager.[1]
In 1919 he was appointed as General Manager.[3] [4] and retired in 1924.[5] [6] [7] [8]
He was made a member of the Victorian Order in the 1920 New Zealand Royal Visit Honours. After retiring he was Managing Director of Black and White Cabs in Wellington.[1]
He was elected a Wellington City Councillor in 1927.[9] Although councillors were rarely given a committee chairmanship during their first term, McVilly was made chairman of the council staff committee.[10] Elected on the Citizens League ticket he was defeated at the 1929 election standing as an independent.[11] He made another attempt at standing for the city council in 1938 but was unsuccessful.[12]
He was a keen sportsman, was president of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association for 15 years and the first honorary life member)[13] presented the McVilly Cup, was Chairman of the New Zealand Rowing Association, and was a member of the New Zealand and Wellington Rowing Associations.[14] [15]