Early life and career McGuigan was born and raised in the
Christchurch suburb of
Woolston. He attended
Christchurch Boys' High School and represented his school in various sports (cricket, soccer, and athletics). McGuigan then studied accountancy at
Christchurch Technical College until
World War II broke out. As a "child of the
depression" he always felt class distinction, a feeling which was reinforced during the war. As an officer in the
Royal New Zealand Navy, he felt uncomfortable at the great divide between officers and ratings. He visited many Asian countries, where poverty was rife and class differences stood out, he decided later to enter politics for this reason and improve people's living standards. At the conclusion of the war, McGuigan married Englishwoman Ruth Deacon, the daughter of John Deacon, on 23 February 1946. After their marriage she had to travel to New Zealand separately from her armed services husband, like most war brides. She ended up arriving in New Zealand first, because the ship carrying McGuigan had to turn around at
Fremantle and head back to England. McGuigan's fellow servicemen, the English rugby league team and a group of Catholic priests who had been on board were taken to Melbourne via a troop train instead. The rail journey was drawn out for about a week by frequent stops to allow other trains through, and to cook meals in the outdoors. McGuigan and his men went into an army camp at Melbourne to await a suitable ship to take them to New Zealand. After failing to win the seat, McGuigan decided not to stand again but to commit himself to his career in hospital administration for the foreseeable future. Despite his name being mentioned for the
Riccarton by-election in 1956, but declined to seek the nomination, citing personal reasons. He instead suggested his friend
Norman Kirk stand in for Lyttelton, and became electorate organiser when Kirk took the seat. At the he was selected as the Labour candidate in the electorate, but later withdrew his candidature. When Kirk switched to the electorate in 1969, McGuigan stood to replace him for Lyttelton and won selection. McGuigan was elected to Parliament in the in the electorate. When Labour formed a
government after the ,
Norman Kirk appointed McGuigan as
Minister of Railways, and
Minister of Electricity. As Minister of Electricity he was instructed by Kirk in February 1973 to not raise the level of
Lake Manapouri fulfilling Labour's election pledge during the
Save Manapouri campaign. He created an independent body, the Guardians of Lake Manapouri, Monowai, and Te Anau (composed of leading members of the protest) to oversee management of the lake levels. He also had to react to New Zealand's growing power demands, but refused to resort to nuclear power, reaffirming the government's anti-nuclear stance. He became known as one of the economic realists in the cabinet and frequently argued against tear-away spending. After Kirk's sudden death, the new prime minister,
Bill Rowling, appointed McGuigan to the portfolio that he had really wanted -
Minister of Health. McGuigan visited
Vietnam near the end of the
Vietnam War. New Zealand was providing aid to help rebuild Vietnam's health infrastructure following withdrawal of New Zealand troops. Inspecting the work, he was stunned by evidence all around of the effects of war damage and that gunfire could still be heard clearly in the distance. McGuigan was re-elected to the board in 1983, but did not seek re-election in 1986. The Labour Party's directional shift to neo-liberal free market ideology (
Rogernomics) in the mid-1980s worried him, but he remained loyal to the party, to which he was a life member. He died at Windsor House, a rest home in Christchurch's suburb of
Shirley, on 5 February 2013, aged 91. His wife had died before him. ==Notes==