Obituary: Robert Gilmore

By MICHAEL BRETT

Journalist. Died aged 86

Robert Gilmore was a chronicler of the life and style of Auckland.

An Auckland Star columnist from 1955 to 1980, he earned his place as one of the best newspapermen in the country.

His urbane manner and worldly look - including ahead-of-his-time jackets bought on overseas trips - got him entree to people and information denied to others.

He was aggressive yet polished. He asked the tough questions, but in a gentle voice and a mild way which won the answers he wanted.

His best writing was in personality pieces. But his Give and Take column, appearing weekly, was the vehicle which made his name.

G&T began in 1958, modelled on a successful multi-topic column in London's Daily Express. The aim was to have at least one paragraph per column that brought satisfaction to one reader.

Gilmore's mischievous sense of humour and ability to ridicule or lampoon ensured the column was required reading.

His flair, and the licence given him by the Star hierarchy, was partly dictated by his background.

Auckland-born (Remuera Primary, Auckland Grammar), he worked as a Herald cadet before heading for Singapore in 1937, aged 21, to become one of several New Zealanders working on the Straits Times.

Paid five times his Herald salary, he acquired a car, Swedish girlfriend, membership of three clubs, and a "decent wardrobe".

This pleasant life ended when he was fired. He called one of the English executives a "pommy bastard" - which may have saved his life.

"If I had stayed I'd probably have been shot by the Japanese when they invaded Singapore," he said.

Instead, he travelled to England, enlisted and ended up on the British Army magazine Parade, working with and learning from some of the world's top correspondents.

On home leave he married Gwendoline Campbell, a war widow and nurse he had met in Cairo. Photographs of the wedding show Gilmore with a moustache.

He was proud of it until, as he told the story, a female at a party remarked: "Do you realise what a prick you look!" The moustache came off the next day.

At the war's end the Gilmores moved to Melbourne, where he joined the Melbourne Herald. As a sideline he wrote an Australian Letter for the Auckland Star, a column which led to his return to Auckland and employment on the Star.

The Gilmores bought a simple cottage at the seaward end of Takapuna's O'Neills Ave. From this eyrie Gilmore surveyed the passing throng and entertained royally on a sun-filled deck.

He made his weekdays bus trip to the city and his weekend forays along Takapuna Beach - a floppy white hat hiding eyes which even in late life searched for the body beautiful among the sunbathers.

In semi-retirement Gilmore kept writing. A weekly travel advertorial in the Herald, sponsored by Singapore Airlines, enabled him to keep visiting Singapore. Book reviews and letters to editors were reminders of the old style - aggressive, polished, sadly seldom seen now.

He is survived by two daughters and a son.