Gordon, as he was known, was born in Palmerston North . After attending the University of Auckland for a year, he embarked on a colourful pioneering career that took him all around the world from the Arctic to the Antarctic and everywhere between as he investigated the Earth from its surface to hundreds of kilometres above.
His scientific work was hugely varied. It included underground mineral prospecting using anomalies in radioactivity, gravity fields and the Earth’s magnetic field; measuring the upper atmosphere to understand how Earth’s ionosphere and magnetic field were affected by variations in solar activity and nuclear testing; and measuring trace gases in the middle atmosphere, with a range of quite different optical techniques, to understand the causes of ozone depletion.
His first decade of work was mainly in the tropics, including Brisbane, Darwin, Rarotonga, and Samoa. During his time in Rarotonga, he met Rima, who would be his wife for 65 years. They had three children — John, Christina and Geoffrey.
In 1963, when he arrived at Lauder, the DSIR Auroral Station as it was known then, was an eclectic mix of wooden huts scattered on the hillside.
Gordon took over managing the station in 1970 and for the following 20 years ensured the Research Station’s ongoing viability and transformed it to the purpose-built facility we see today.
Firstly, in 1994, when he was invited to summarise New Zealand’s contribution to atmospheric research in Antarctic during a one-on-one discussion with the then-Prince Charles at the Antarctic centre in Christchurch. In 1995 he was awarded the Royal Society of NZ’s Science and Technology Silver Medal. Then in 2001 the NZ Geographical Board named Keys Hill, near Scott Base, in his honour.
He was President of the New Zealand Institute of Physics in the mid-1980s and belatedly received a MSc in Physics with Distinction from the University of Otago in 1993. A year before that, DSIR had ceased to exist, and the work at Lauder had fallen under the NIWA umbrella.
Gordon retired from Lauder in 1999, after more than 35 years, but his interest in its science never waned.
In addition to more than 60 scientific publications, his name also lives on with his book, Stranded in Paradise, recounting his pioneering adventure in Rarotonga when he and an intrepid friend salvaged the propeller blades from the wreck of the 95m RMS Maitai, which had sunk at the mouth of Avarua Harbour 99 years earlier.
His adaptability was further demonstrated when he built two homes for him and Rima — one in Alexandra and another in the Rarotonga, where they escaped Central Otago winters. He was a talented musician and the couple hosted wonderful evenings including musical interludes with Gordon on the piano or playing his piano accordion.
He always played an active part in community affairs. While at Lauder he directed several musical performances by the Omakau Musical society. He was also active in the local Art Society, and the Rotary Club of Alexandra for 30 years, including terms as president in both. He played tennis into his 90s and was the driving force behind establishing the tennis and hockey facility alongside the newly built Central Stories in 2011.
Rima Keys died three years ago and their eldest son John died in his early 20s. Gordon is survived by their son Geoffrey, daughter Christina and their families.
