David Gapes, one of the original Radio Hauraki "pirates". Photo: Dean Purcell / NZME
*This story has been updated to remove an incorrect reference to the station being the first commercial one in New Zealand.
One of the founders of New Zealand's pirate radio station and then commercial radio station Radio Hauraki, David Gapes, has died.
In 1966, David Gapes was one of a group who took a boat out into international waters in a bid to bring pop music to the people of Auckland.
After four years of operating from sea, Radio Hauraki was granted a commercial station licence in 1970.
Gapes stayed on as an executive at the station until 1977.
David Gapes, left, and Denis O'Callahan, the original Radio Hauraki "pirates". Photo: Dean Purcell / NZME
He then managed the band Hello Sailor, one of New Zealand's most popular bands at the time.
Gapes later returned to journalism, working for the Star, and then as the first editor of film and television industry magazine OnFilm, and later the editor of AdMedia.
He was awarded the officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to broadcasting in 2019.
