discriminating and independent support'; but the Wellington Evening Post considered him a political turncoat: 'Vain, pretentious, utterly selfish, gifted with a shallow cleverness, and possessed of unbounded audacity. ... Formerly a thick and thin partisan of Mr Stafford, he has now transferred his allegiance to Mr Fox'. Public servant In 1878 Luckie moved to Wellington to take up the editorship of The Evening Post. He held the position for six months, before being offered and accepting the position of government insurance commissioner, in return for his support of the government by John Ballance. Balance offered Luckie the job at an £800 salary, but Premier George Grey considered £200 sufficient. Parliament ratified the £800 salary. Luckie began to suffer from ill health and in 1889 stepped down from the position. He continued to write many leading articles for Wellington newspapers, frequented the parliamentary press gallery, and was an honorary member of the New Zealand Institute of Journalists. Luckie retired on 16 December 1908 and died in Wellington on 6 May 1909. He was survived by his wife, four sons, and two daughters. Notes References External links Entry in Dictionary of New Zealand Biography Photo of David Luckie 1827 births 1909 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand journalists New Zealand editors New Zealand magazine editors New Zealand public servants New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates People from Montrose, Angus Scottish emigrants to New Zealand 19th-century New Zealand politicians Members of the Nelson Provincial Council