The Westport-born "visionary" had been living in Nelson since he stood down as mayor in 2022 after six years at the helm of the Westland District Council.
Last year, he was plagued by illness after being diagnosed with prostate cancer and then a serious case of sepsis. The infection got into his hip and he underwent two subsequent surgeries, which he was still recovering from at the time of his death at the weekend.
Longtime friend and fellow former Westland mayor Durham Havill said Mr Smith had put up a good fight.
"He’d been battling away — that’s what he’s been doing for a long time."
Through it all, however, he remained "bright".
"That’s one thing about Bruce. He was always bright. It’s sad to hear he’s moved on. He was a real great guy, and a real great friend."
Over the decades the two were champions for a number of Westland projects and visions, including their joint bid to get the Haast-Hollyford road built.
In the 1980s Mr Smith was at the helm of Hokitika high-flying company Como Holdings Ltd, and built Como House, before Como and its related companies collapsed during the sharemarket crash.
"He got the company going and he worked hard. He put up the biggest building in Hokitika — no-one could take that away," Mr Havill said.
"He was a real enthusiast for Westland.
"When I was mayor I would seek his view on things. He really did have an understanding on what was needed in Westland."
Mr Smith stood for the mayoralty himself on Mr Havill’s advice.
"He said ‘no-one will vote for me’ — but they did. He loved everything about the West Coast, and of course he ran his Coasters Club to inform everyone. He did a wonderful job for the Coast. He had this vision of what to do and he achieved it."
Mr Smith’s Coasters Club legacy continues to be run by his family, and now has 43,000 followers around the world. — Hokitika Guardian
By Janna Sherman
