Cr Lee Vandervis

Profile

My name is Lee Vandervis and I was born in Balclutha in 1955 to Dutch immigrant parents who ran a successful building contractor business.

I have been passing Dad nails since I can remember, and I learned to swing a hammer usefully early in life. My parents always pushed the values of thrift and a broad education. At Otago University I gained a BA in Philosophy before going to London for 5 years overseas experience, working in electronics manufacturing and rising to Production Manager of Midas Audio UK, building mixing consoles for musicians like Stevie Wonder, Supertramp and Pink Floyd.

I returned to Dunedin in 1981 to have a family and set up Vandervision Lighting Audio and Video, making it Dunedin’s largest lighting hire business, and restoring heritage buildings like Dundas Street Church, 401 Moray Place and 47 Garfield Avenue along the way. I sold most of my business interests when first elected to the DCC in 2004.

I am lucky to be married to Antonie, and we have eight children and ten grandchildren between us.

Outside of Council activities I spend most of my hobby time restoring heritage buildings with macrocarpa milled from our farm, restoring and reusing farm machinery and vehicles, and building sustainable farming and gardening systems using off-grid solar power.