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Alan Sayers
Summary
Alan John Sayers (6 December 1915 – 19 August 2017) was a New Zealand journalist, photographer and athlete who worked for The New Zealand Herald prior to World War II. When the war was over he was invited to join the Auckland Star where he was the first reporter in New Zealand to receive a personal by-line. In 1953 he was an official journalist on the tour of Queen Elizabeth II to the Pacific Islands and New Zealand.
Sayers was born in the Auckland suburb of Royal Oak, the son of Mary and Horace Sayers, a builder. He was educated at Royal Oak Primary School and Auckland Grammar School. His son, Greg Sayers, is an Auckland Councillor.
While at Auckland Grammar Sayers competed in the 1934 Melbourne Centenary Inter-Collegiate Games and won a silver medal, becoming the second fastest schoolboy quarter-miler in the British Empire. In 1938, although recovering from a serious car accident, he competed in the British Empire Games in Sydney, winning a bronze medal as part of the men’s 440 yards relay team.
Sayers won national 440 yards track title in 1937, represented Waikato in rugby union and played rugby league for one season, during which he scored a total of seven tries in a senior game on Carlaw Park, a record yet to be beaten. He coached track athletes, a number of whom won national titles, broke records and represented their country.
In the world of yachting he was chairman of both the Auckland P-Class and Starling Associations, the largest youth classes in New Zealand. As patron of the Manly Sailing Club, Whangaparaoa, he was partially responsible for the building of a new waterfront clubhouse including the raising of $70,000 towards its construction. He was also patron of the Hibiscus Coast Waterwise Society.
At the beginning of World War II Sayers enlisted in the 9th Heavy Artillery Regiment but was seconded into the Royal New Zealand Navy (special branch), where he served as an intelligence officer reporting on enemy activity in the South Pacific. He was a member of the Kings Empire Veterans and the Silverdale RSA.
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