Brigadier David McGREGOR OBE, ED.
2 August 1946 – 20 December 2023.
It is with deep sadness that Te Araroa Trust acknowledges the recent passing of David McGregor. David had a deep and rich history with the Trust and trail, serving its best interests for 17 years, with 10 of those as Chair.
David joined the board of Te Araroa Trust (TAT) in May 2006, then served as deputy chair for seven years from September that year to 2013. As deputy chair, David helped give legal shape to Te Araroa Trust’s emerging partnerships, overseeing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Conservation, and safe storage in Bell Gully’s document room for property access agreements and local authority MoUs. David’s suggestion also, to expand the reach of Te Araroa Trust with regional trusts, was a critical step for the emerging trail. The original seven trusts helped negotiate access agreements the length of New Zealand. They now number eight and remain active in maintaining the trail.
Then-Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae opened Te Araroa on 3 December 2011, and David was voted chairman of Te Araroa Trust in 2013. The trail was just beginning to attract international notice as one of the world’s top long-distance trails, but it was still developing and during his 10 years as chair, David helped secure legal alliances with the New Zealand Transport Agency / Waka Kotahi for trail extensions alongside State Highways, and harnessed some of the skills and budgets of the Herenga ā Nuku Aotearoa, the Outdoor Access Commission, in favour of Te Araroa.
Those that knew David, have extended their comments on how the trail benefited from David’s ready wit, grace, knowledge, and capacity as chair – all of it given freely in favour of what has been largely a volunteer Kiwi effort across decades.
David wanted Te Araroa to become a core part of this nation’s identity – a rite of passage for Kiwis, and that dream has found its place. Over the years, Te Araroa’s walkers have generated momentum of their own for the trail. Te Araroa has sunk into our culture, and some of the best of David, his generosity and talent, and of his fellow New Zealanders is inscribed within it.
