Rt Hon. Sir William Birch

Rt Hon. Sir William Birch

In Memoriam

FS+SNZ · RPSurv · GMNZ · JP

April 1934 - July 2026

In 2000, after concluding a career in Parliament spanning 27 years, Sir William (Bill) took up his Surveying tools once again and commenced working with Birch (a company his son Kevin had established in 1989), as a consultant. He had originally established a Surveying practice in Pukekohe in 1957 and played a key role in the development and growth of Pukekohe and the surrounding areas in the 1960's and early 1970's, both as a surveyor and a member of the local Pukekohe Borough Council.

Bill retired from active work in 2025 following a period of ill health, and sadly in July 2026 Bill passed away, aged 92, surrounded by family.

A significant component of his time was spent managing and facilitating Plan Changes and larger scale developments which required all his negotiating and mediation skills together with a sound background in Planning, Surveying and Civil Engineering. 

The younger Surveyors, Planners and Engineers in the Company benefitted from his wide knowledge and his willingness to share and mentor them during their post-graduate training years.

Outside of Surveying, Bill had a great passion for tending to the gardens, native trees, and steers on his 10 hectare farmlet in Drury.

Bill's contribution to Birch extended well beyond his professional role.  We were very fortunate to have his knowledge, experience and guidance as part of Birch for so many years.  He remained interested in what was happening at Birch even after retiring from active work.

Sir William will always be an important part of Birch's history, and of the family behind it.