Background
Stewart was born in Dunedin in 1878. His father was William Downie Stewart, a lawyer and politician. His mother was Rachel Hepburn, daughter of George Hepburn.
Stewart was born in Dunedin in 1878. His father was William Downie Stewart, a lawyer and politician. His mother was Rachel Hepburn, daughter of George Hepburn.
University of Otago.
Downie Stewart was the author of a number of books A reviewer called the book "an illuminating study of the remarkable series of instructive experiments in socialistic legislation, for which New Zealand has become conspicuous, together with that Australian Commonwealth, which is its nearest neighbour."
Downie Stewart was Mayor of Dunedin (1913–1914). He represented the Dunedin West electorate from 1914 to 1935.
His father had previously represented the Dunedin West electorate.
In 1935, he was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Meda Minister of Finance and resignation
Downie Stewart was Finance Minister in 1931–1933.
He resigned after the devaluation of the New Zealand currency, a measure he opposed. Downie Stewart stood in the 1935 general election as an Independent United-Reform Coalition candidate, losing to Labour"s Doctor Gervan McMillan.
He and the American economist James Edward Le Rossignol of the University of Denver published State socialism in New Zealand in 1910.