He trained for the Presbyterian ministry but lost his faith in World War II, and was jailed for his pacifist beliefs.
His first three collections of poems were published by Caxton Press, and he was regarded as a "southern poet" and associated with Charles Brasch and Ruth Dallas.
Many of his poems refer to his Christchurch youth and much of his poetry alludes to alienation both from a bucolic New Zealand childhood and from the English pastoral literary tradition.
He taught in British schools from 1952 to 1975 where he became Head of English and died from pneumonia on 24 July 2000 in Rye, Sussex.
He was survived by his wife Margaret whom he married in 1936, a son and two daughters.