Gavin was born into a Patutahi farming family in 1939, he had 8 sisters and 7 brothers. He described his childhood as simple, but fun, milking cows and riding horses.
In the early days he worked for Bob Crosby, the job took him all around the East Coast, building schools and houses for the Education Board. It was during this time he found his way into volunteering for St John’s and helped to deliver first aid courses up the coast. He ended up giving over 20 years to the organisation.
The remainder of Gavin’s working life included building cool stores and freezers for Clarke Refrigeration, a stint in butchery at his Makaraka business and carting grapes during the harvest. But it was his 40 years on and off with Hindmarsh Buses that really allowed him to explore the district and meet lots of new faces.
When his health started to deteriorate at the start of 2015, Gavin thought hard about how he could give back to the community he had loved calling home.
Gavin left his estate to Sunrise and chose the Gisborne East Coast Cancer Foundation and Hospice Tairawhiti as beneficiaries of his donation, as not only had they supported him, but also his wife Ngaire before she passed away in 2003. The income from his named endowment fund will be grant to these charities in his name very year.