Veteran broadcaster, author and sports journalist Phil Gifford has died.

His death was announced on NewstalkZB’s Christchurch bulletin at 6AM.

He died in Auckland on Tuesday night, aged 79.

He is survived by wife Jan and his children Emmalene, Jane, Scott and Adam.

Gifford became one of the country’s most recognisable sporting voices, but for generations of Christchurch listeners he was equally well known as one half of a hugely successful radio partnership with Simon Barnett.

Born in Hamilton in 1947, Gifford began his journalism career at the New Zealand Herald in 1965 before working as a news reporter for the Auckland Star.

His career would eventually take him around the world, covering some of New Zealand sport’s defining moments.

Gifford reported from the 1968 Olympic Games, covered four Commonwealth Games and attended every Rugby World Cup from the inaugural tournament in 1987.

But one of his most enduring contributions to New Zealand sporting culture came through a fictional character.

In 1973, Gifford created Loosehead Len, a satirical rugby character who became enormously popular with readers. The column ran for decades and spawned seven books.

Gifford later became one of the country’s leading rugby writers, producing books on some of the biggest names in New Zealand sport.

His works included biographies of Alex Wyllie, Peter Fatialofa, Mike Brewer, Todd Blackadder, Dame Valerie Adams and Sir Wayne Smith.

His book about Wyllie, Grizz, The Legend, became the biggest selling New Zealand sports book of the 1990s.

Gifford was also deeply connected to Christchurch through radio.

He and Simon Barnett began hosting breakfast together on 91ZM Christchurch in 1992 before moving to More FM, where their programme became a dominant force in the city’s radio market.

The partnership made Gifford a familiar voice in thousands of Canterbury homes and workplaces.

His broadcasting career, which began in 1980, included Radio Hauraki, 91ZM, More FM, Radio Sport and Newstalk ZB.

Gifford and Barnett were reunited nationally on Newstalk ZB Afternoons in 2019. Gifford left the programme in 2021 while continuing his work as a columnist and sports commentator.

His career brought significant recognition.

Gifford was twice named New Zealand Sports Writer of the Year and three times New Zealand Sports Columnist of the Year.

He also received numerous radio awards and in 2010 was given a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to sports journalism.

In the 2024 New Year Honours, Gifford was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to broadcasting and sports journalism.

By then his career had spanned almost 60 years, encompassing newspapers, magazines, radio, television and more than two dozen books.

From Loosehead Len to breakfast radio and the biggest stages in international rugby, Gifford became one of the most distinctive voices in New Zealand sports journalism and broadcasting.