John Martin. Photo: Tracey Roxburgh
Yesterday, Stuff reported the 69-year-old collapsed on a Kapiti Coast beach after kitesurfing on Thursday afternoon and could not be revived.
Former mayor Sir John Davies said the former rich-lister was a ‘‘great advocate’’ for the town and fought for ratepayers on a variety of issues.
He bought the 140-year-old former miners’ cottages in Arrowtown in 2007, which had fallen into disrepair, and sold them to the Queenstown Lakes District Council at no extra cost.
The cottages were restored by a local trust.
Mr Martin was a spokesman for the the Queenstown Community Strategic Assets Group, which opposed the sale of shares in Queenstown Airport to Auckland International Airport in 2010.
