Former Taupō mayor David Trewavas has died suddenly at the age of 63.

Taupō Funeral Services posted on social media that David James passed away on 28 July 2026, aged 63. The Taupō District Council confirmed the death in a statement, and tributes have come from the current mayor and the council's chief executive (RNZ).

Trewavas served on the Taupō District Council for 24 years, 13 of those as mayor. He held the mayoralty from 2013 to 2025 (Taupō News), having first been elected to the council in the early 2000s. He stood for re-election as mayor in 2025 but lost to John Funnell.

Current mayor John Funnell paid tribute to Trewavas, describing him as a people person with a genuine interest in others. Taupō District Council chief executive Julie Gardyne praised his self-deprecating humour and outgoing personality. The council extended condolences to Trewavas's whānau and former colleagues (RNZ).

Trewavas's mayoral tenure saw several major infrastructure projects completed in the Taupō district. Achievements cited by RNZ include a new airport terminal, a CBD redevelopment, and a $3.5 million sports facility (RNZ).

The 2025 local election result that unseated Trewavas was a notable shift for a district where he had held the mayoralty for over a decade. Funnell's victory ended a long period of continuity in Taupō's civic leadership, and Trewavas's death less than a year later means the district has lost a figure who shaped much of its recent physical and institutional landscape. For local government observers, the combination of an electoral defeat followed by a sudden death within months is a reminder of how quickly institutional memory can shift at the council level. Long-serving mayors accumulate relationships across central government agencies, iwi, community organisations and infrastructure providers — connections that do not transfer automatically to a successor.

The infrastructure projects associated with Trewavas's time in office, particularly the airport terminal and CBD works, are the kind of capital investments that define a district's economic trajectory for decades. They are also the kind of projects that generate debate about ratepayer debt, procurement decisions and consultation processes, and those debates will outlast any single mayor's term. What is clear from the tributes is that Trewavas's personal style — outgoing, self-deprecating, people-focused — was central to how he operated in the role, and it is that dimension rather than any single policy achievement that Funnell and Gardyne chose to emphasise.

RNZ reported the death by combining the council statement, the funeral services social-media post, and tributes from the current mayor and council CEO, bringing together the available public record (RNZ).

Trewavas is survived by his whānau. Funeral arrangements have not been publicly detailed beyond the funeral services notice.