Gavin Price Ansell Downie (5 December 1924 – 27 January 1998) was a Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Pakuranga

Pakuranga

Pakuranga is an eastern suburb of Auckland, in northern New Zealand. Pakuranga covers a series of low ridges and previously swampy flats, now drained, that lie between the Pakuranga Creek and Tamaki River, two estuarial arms of the Hauraki Gulf...

 in Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

.

Early life

Downie was born in 1924. He was married twice and father to four children. He spent his early years as a teacher and then toured with the Gilbert and Sullivan opera company before becoming an MP in Pakuranga, New Zealand.

National Party

Downie represented the Pakuranga

Pakuranga (New Zealand electorate)

rightPakuranga is a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate.It is currently held by Maurice Williamson MP, a member of the National Party.-Population centres:Pakuranga is one of sixty-three general electorates used in New Zealand general elections...

 electorate from 1972

New Zealand general election, 1972

The New Zealand general election of 1972 was held to elect MPs to the 37th session of the New Zealand Parliament. The Labour Party, led by Norman Kirk, defeated the governing National Party.-Background:...

 to 1978 for the National Party

New Zealand National Party

The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...

. He was the first Member of Parliament to raise the health implications of smoking. He was replaced as the National candidate for Pakuranga by Pat Hunt

Pat Hunt

Thomas de Vere Hunt was a New Zealand politician of the National Party.In 1978 Hunt replaced Gavin Downie as the National candidate for Pakuranga, in a controversial challenge to a sitting MP....

 in a controversial challenge to a sitting MP.

Independent

He unsuccessfully stood as an Independent

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

 in the 1978 election

New Zealand general election, 1978

The 1978 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to elect the 39th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the governing National Party, led by Robert Muldoon, retain office, although the opposition Labour Party managed to win the largest share of the vote...

.

After Parliament

Gavin Downie was awarded the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal for service to the community and the NZ 1990 Medal for services to New Zealand. A member of the Auckland YMCA, Downie was a keen marathon runner and held the fastest record for the over 60's for several years (3 hours 14 minutes). In his later years he qualified as a classical homoeopath.

Gavin Downie died on 27 January 1998 in Glen Eden

Glen Eden, New Zealand

Glen Eden is a suburb of Auckland city, in New Zealand. The suburb is in the Waitakere Ward, one of the thirteen administrative areas of Auckland and is governed by the Auckland Council....

, Auckland.