[6] He was a councillor from 1935 to 1938 when he stood only for the mayoralty, but was narrowly beaten by the incumbent Citizens' Association mayor Jack Andrews.

At the following election in 1941 he stood for a council seat again, but was defeated (along with all other Labour candidates) after the infamous 'Nathan Incident' in nearby Wellington.

[1] Dowse had the opportunity to stand for Parliament several times, but declined the offers, believing he could make more of a difference at local government level.

Many public works were completed in Dowse's mayoralty including motorway flyovers at Normandale and the Ewen Bridge.

[12][13] The city now found it had a tenacious mayor, determined to drag it up out of the village mentality of the twenties in order to face up to the needs of the fifties.

[14]Dowse was an incredibly hard worker seldom arriving in his office after 8 am or leave before 5.30 pm often attending an evening function afterwards making his normal work day over 12 hours.

[3] In early 1954 he hosted Queen Elizabeth II when she visited Lower Hutt during that years royal tour.

[15] Dowse also championed the fluoridation of Lower Hutt's drinking water supply, convincing many reluctant councillors to vote in favour of it in 1957.

Although his public manner was low-keyed, no-one left his office with any other impression than that he was a quick-witted captain who ran a tight ship.

A man of undoubted administration abilities he was reluctant to share responsibilities or delegate which led to complaints that he wielded too much power.

The St James Anglican Church was filled to capacity with a large crowd on the lawn outside listening via loudspeakers to the eulogies by speakers including Norman Kirk.

From 1950 Dowse had been a local body representative on the National Art Gallery and Dominion Museum board of trustees.