BLOGGER, social gadfly and passionate advocate for disabled people, Don Allan OAM has died after a short illness. He was 79.

Scottish-born son of a Communist, he learnt political guile from his miner father in Motherwell and, after a long and well-travelled life, applied this prowess in Canberra, where he stood unsuccessfully for the early House of Assembly under the Residents’ Rally banner.

He continued to be an active commentator on local politics through his weekly column in “The Chronicle” until last year when, after two decades of loyally writing on local issues and publishing a book based on his column “Don Allan Takes Aim”, he was dismissed as part of a cost-cutting campaign. Hurt but undeterred, Mr Allan continued his political and social commentary on the internet.

Mr Allan, who was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in recent years, had variously studied for the priesthood, been a policeman, marketing manager, manager of the now defunct Center Cinema and general manager of the Koomarri Association.

He was a passionate advocate for Canberra and used his marketing skills on a number of local tourism bodies.

After a horrific car accident, which limited his movement, but not his mind, he became an active champion of disabled people in the ACT, founding the ACT Association for Advancing Disabled Sport in 1994 and serving on its governing council until his death last week.

“On behalf of not just the board, but the very many people with disabilities that have been assisted by the ACT Association for Advancing Disabled Sport, I offer my deepest condolences to Valerie and the Allan family on the passing of Don,” says association president Jeff House.

“Don was the driving force behind ACTAADS for nearly 20 years and was responsible for its very existence. His contribution to Canberra was vast and diverse. He will be deeply missed and never forgotten”.

He is survived by wife Valerie and daughter Elizabeth.